Second Chances
by Cresenta's Lark
Summary: 5 years ago Sam Simpson's life took an unexpected turn. She was abandoned by family, had to give up being a spy, and grow up real fast when she became a single mother. She'd thought life couldn't possibly get any worse for her until she runs into Tim Scam one night, a chance meeting that he considers fate while she considers it nothing more ... than bad luck. Sam/Scam
1. Chapter 1

Whaddup yo!

A new story for a new year?

This _could_ be the start of something new. I was fishing around in my idea folder when I found it and decided to write it on a whim. **AN** at the bottom! See you there if you make it that far :D

**Note: **This is NOT my Christmas fic. That is way longer and a full story! This is just a possible beginning! :D

Disclaimer: TS DOES NOT BELONG TO ME YET BUT I'M WORKING ON IT. (NO I AM NOT BUT LET ME DREAM OKAY?)

* * *

"Sooo … have you thought about it yet?!"

A 25-year old Samantha Simpson quietly closed the bedroom door before shooting her best friend an annoyed glance from over her shoulder to keep it down before repeating what she'd said to her not even ten minutes ago.

"I already told you I'm tired tonight. I was running around all day and I just want to have some tea and read a nice book before I go to bed."

Clover Ewing rolled her blue eyes at Sam's evening plans which were so completely dull. Especially on a Friday night. For a moment she didn't say anything as she stood there remembering the past. Five years ago back when Sam and Alex and her used to be so carefree and spent nearly every night out on the town, dancing, partying, and meeting cute guys…

Until everything changed due to one of those parties.

A frown formed on her face as a familiar feeling of guilt started to gnaw away at her insides. Even if Sam never expressed it, never said it with her own lips that she held her in any way responsible for how things had ended up … she still felt she'd played a big part in it.

Her eyes wandered around Sam's small rented flat and she only felt worse. Once upon a time Sam had had so many dreams, so much insane potential and it had all amounted to nothing. And … it was her fault. And that was why she couldn't just leave Sam alone like so many others in her life had. She couldn't abandon her like her father had. Cut her off like most of her family had.

She knew she was suffering, she knew she deserved better than this, and she knew someone had to get her to see that.

"Please Sammie?" She urged again, watching the redhead as she moved around the cramped living room tidying up and putting laundry in a hamper to deal with later. All she wanted was for her to take a little bit of time to have some fun for once. "I promise this one is good! You'll really like him!"

Sam tensed up the moment she heard her say that. Here was Clover once again trying to coax her into going on a date. Into meeting another _guy_. She didn't face the blonde as she tucked a loose strand of her shoulder-length, red hair behind her ear, just a remainder of the waist length waves she'd once possessed that hadn't been unable to keep up with the hectic turn her life had taken and tried to keep control over herself. Just what would it take for Clover to understand that she had one, no interest in dating right now and two, no time whatsoever to go frolicking like she once did?

Her life was no longer what it once used to be, she thought as she picked up a stuffed rabbit toy from the carpet, tenderly tracing her fingers into its white fur before moving to put where it belonged. As hard as it had been she'd move on, grown up and accepted that, why couldn't Clover do the same?

"Clover…" She started to say tiredly, hoping she'd take a hint. She'd already forced her to go on so many dates and none of them ever led to anything but her feeling letdown over and over again. She was sick of it. But Clover didn't seem to consider that as she came over to where she stood with her phone out and a picture pulled up for her to see.

"His name is Nathan, he's 30 years old and a corporate lawyer," She summarized as she showed her the image of a black-haired, average built, blue-eyed man. "He's just your type."

Sam tried not to but found herself looking at the photograph. He was kind of cute and had to be smart to be in law. But did she really want to set herself up for this?_ Again? _She hadn't forgotten yet and honestly never would forget the last time she'd thought a guy was perfect for her nor the _huge price _she'd ended up paying for it.

"I dunno Clover," She fidgeted balancing her basket before her eyes glanced at the clock on the wall. "It's already 9:30 and you set the date up for 10 pm. There is no way I'll even make it in time. Just cancel it okay?" She said dismissively and moved to walk past Clover but she grabbed her shoulder and stopped her.

"I'll help you get ready," she insisted. Watching Sam open her mouth to give her her favourite excuse she held up a hand to tell her that was taken care of too. She'd come prepared. "And I've got no plans tonight so I'll be staying put right here."

Sam slumped her shoulders and felt her resolve breaking down. As much as she didn't feel like doing this, the fact that Clover had cleared her busy schedule just to make this possible for her was super touching. And she knew she couldn't say no now because if she did she'd be hurting her feelings.

Slowly nodding to say okay she smiled at the hyper squeal of joy that left the blonde who immediately hugged her and thanked her a hundred times for saying yes.

Sam hugged her back tightly, her friend and sister while wondering to herself what was the harm in doing this really. At best, she'd make a genuine connection with a guy tonight for the first time since _that night_. At worst, the date would be a total bust like she was now used to.

With nothing else to really worry about she soon found herself putting on a pretty dress, some flattering jewellery, and light makeup before hopping into a cab and heading towards the upscale restaurant Clover had mentioned to meet her date.

* * *

A tall, luridly handsome man dressed in a dark black trench coat sat down at the restaurant bar and asked for a sour whiskey on the rocks. Receiving his drink moments later he took a long sip and swallowed it down while glancing at his expensive watch wondering how long he'd have to wait for his friend to show up. They had important business to discuss and he didn't like to be kept waiting.

He sent another text to him before turning over on the wooden stool he sat on to look around while he passed the time. The place was packed to absolute capacity and he smiled to see that business was booming primarily because he had a huge stake in it.

Bored he found himself surveying the restaurant's patrons this evening. There were mostly couples, both young and old out on romantic dates. In fact every table had two people seated, smiling, holding hands and gazing into the others' eyes lovingly … save for one.

His eyes zeroed in on the young, slender yet curvaceous woman who sat at a table in the center. She appeared nervous as she kept checking her reflection in her compact mirror and adjusting her necklace so that it sat perfectly across the sweetheart neckline of her strapless gown. The dress she wore was red and he couldn't help but mentally commend her choice because one, it was his favourite color next to only black and two, she looked _amazing_ in it. The dark shade contrasted wonderfully against her pale, porcelain skin and made her emerald eyes sparkle like two diamonds.

Wait a minute….

Suddenly he found himself taking a closer look at her, his eyes peeled and the moment he did, he felt his jaw drop because he recognized her. In fact the only reason he hadn't done so straightway was because she'd cut her signature, flowing, long, crimson locks.

"Samantha Simpson?" _Tim Scam _whispered under his breath in total shock. The last time he'd seen her had been years ago when she was still working for WOOHP. It had come as quite the surprise to him when she'd stopped appearing on missions yet he'd never found out what had made her give up her spy career. Rumour among the jail cells had been that something had happened in her personal life that made being a super spy no longer viable. That curiosity had always stayed in the back of his mind as to just what had made her retire so young from something she was so passionate about namely saving the world from people like him.

He smirked slightly a feeling of nostalgia coming over him as he remembered those days when he'd been running around causing havoc and destruction just because he could and how often she'd be the one to thwart his plans. After she'd left half the fun of being a thorn in Jerry's side had gone with her and it only got progressively uninteresting as her other friends had eventually quit as well.

Shockingly he'd also then decided to give up his criminal lifestyle, cutting a deal with his former boss and earning his freedom within the next two years. He'd then turned his focus on building an empire for himself, using his energy and talents on amassing wealth instead of adding to his body count.

And the effort had paid off. He'd done well, now lived a luxurious life, and as he sat there basking in it he wondered how things had worked out for his former foe. And before he could stop himself he found himself walking over to where she sat unsuspecting at her table.

Sam, who had been busied with texting Clover asking why her date wasn't here yet and if she'd been stood up or something stopped dead when she thought she heard a familiar voice coming from nearby.

"…Imagine running into _you_ here."

Her blood ran cold as her head shot up and she gasped when she saw the speaker. There he stood smirking at her with the devilish smirk she still remembered despite not seeing it or its owner in years. It hadn't changed and neither had he even though he had to be in his mid thirties by now. He was still annoying good-looking, still had his cropped brown hair, bronze-tanned skin, and too pretty for a guy and especially for a baddie sea foam eyes that twinkled with nothing but mischief and intent.

"T-Tim Scam?!" She half stuttered and half squeaked almost passing out as his smirk grew even larger at the sight of her petrified face.

"The one and only," he replied smoothly, giving her a wink coupled with a little bow and for some reason she felt herself blushing at the way he'd said that, like he was some celebrity she was freaking out at running into by some lucky chance before she cleared her throat and quickly gained control on herself.

"What are YOU doing here?!" She snapped, glowering at him.

Of all the people to show up on her first date in a week it just HAD to be him didn't it? This was just another reminder from the universe that her life was shit and he'd shown up to make it even shittier.

"This is my friend's restaurant," He shrugged at her harmlessly and she had to bite her tongue hard to keep from asking him if he was serious. He had friends?! The Tim Scam she remembered was a dangerous felon, a nomad whose only companion was the havoc he wreaked daily on the lives of innocent people just for his own twisted kicks.

For a moment she flashed back to her former life, unable to stop herself as she remembered the days when she was a valiant spy helping to take down criminals just like him. And she found herself frowning at that cruel reminder of something that no longer was and never would be again. Then why was he here to dig up her forgotten past with his unwelcome presence? Wait, he'd said that this was his friend's restaurant? She felt a groan escape her. What were the odds?

"If I'd known that you had anything to do with this place…" She said through gritted teeth, smiling fake and wide to mask her panic from him. "I'd never have set foot here." She then proceeded to eye her ice water, the only thing she'd touched while waiting for her date suspiciously and he chuckled watching her do that. It amused him that after so much time she was still programmed to be critical of him even if she really had no reason to anymore.

Seeing how she was actually peering into the glass so cautiously as if looking for a trace of something he might have snuck in to harm her now he rolled his eyes, crossed his arms over his chest and muttered. "Oh come on, don't you remember me at all? Any poison I'd use would be undetectable and _instant_."

"…" Sam's attention was pulled back to his face and for a second she saw him, saw exactly the Tim Scam she remembered before he disappeared the second he started laughing at her sour face. And she honestly didn't know what to make of him of all men being so … chill with her. Had he gotten amnesia and didn't remember who or what he used to be? No that didn't make any sense. Based on his last words he remembered his past full well but then why was he being like this? Being so frightfully jovial? So … _normal_?

She realized her curiosity over Scam would have to wait as she finally saw her date appear among the crowd.

"Well this has been just…. _wonderful_," she said and Scam couldn't help but find the biting sarcasm in her overly sweet tone to be sort of attractive. Where was the polite, cordial girl he'd once known? This Sam seemed to have a hard edge to her. He honestly kinda _dug it_.

"But my date is here so …" Realizing she was telling him to take a hike he stood there for a moment feeling almost bummed out that he had to leave her alone so soon but obliged and told her to have a good night, his polite goodbye leaving her stunned as he walked away and took his perch back at the bar.

But throughout her date he couldn't help but keep staring at her. He'd always found Sam to be pretty, he'd have been blind not to think so but while she'd been cute back then, now she was _beautiful_ having matured in a fully grown woman. The years had only been kinder to her looks and in his humble opinion she was easily the most stunning woman here tonight and as such he couldn't tear his gaze away from her despite trying several times to look at another face.

So when he saw her date get up and leave so soon after arriving, wishing her goodnight as he did so, he found himself helplessly returning to her.

"So ..." Scam whispered returning to her table as he watched her date exit the restaurant barely fifteen minutes later. "Not the love at first sight you were hoping for huh?"

A brief laugh left her red glossed lips, pretending to be unbothered but unmistakably bitter as her emerald gaze bore daggers of accusation into Scam's turned back as she muttered more to herself than to him. "… Love at first sight has let me down before."

Realizing what she'd said she wanted to kick herself and just before he turned to look at her for an explanation she glanced down at the menu on the table to avoid his eyes. But she could feel them digging into her as she sat there and she started to wonder why she was still hanging around. Her date had ended, she should just get up and leave.

Reaching for her purse and standing up she was about to do just that when she heard his voice again saying something she'd never expected to hear.

"…You can talk to me you know?"

Her eyes wide at his suggestion she glanced at Scam to find him staring her at with an actual smile on his face. It was so friendly, warm and disarming like he truly was just an old acquaintance, a high school friend she'd bumped into who just wanted to catch up with her. His sociable demeanour had the effect of pouring ice water on her burns and she actually found herself slowly sitting back down and talking to him.

For the next long while she just sat there and gave him a rundown of her life since they'd last seen one another, leaving out some key components but giving him enough of a picture of it to understand why she'd been here tonight in this time and place.

"So you're still dreaming of a romance aren't you? That's why you started dating again," he said understanding that that had to be her reason to do so after taking as long of a break as she had from the dating scene. "It's why you came here tonight, to look for Mr. Right." Yet the way her date had gone it was clear that guy hadn't been what she'd been looking for at all.

"Honestly… no," Sam confessed sipping on her water again before sighing. "All I really wanted tonight was a break in the monotony, just a little time to not have to think about things so much." Her eyes were narrowed in thought as she reflected upon the rut her life truly was and how taxing it was on her. The three jobs she held down to pay her rent and the tiresome race she always seemed to be in to provide the other things she needed just to survive … it was a lot to deal with day in and day out even though she did her best to never complain about because she'd made her life what it was today.

"I just … I dunno," she whispered absentmindedly running her fingertip along the edge of her glass and doodling on the rim of it. "I wanted to have a good time with some guy and feel even a small connection with him. I… I didn't want a wedding proposal or something," she mumbled knowing she wasn't that unrealistic or ridiculous. "Just someone to have a nice evening with you know?" Sam shrugged and he couldn't help but notice how nice the candlelight looked highlighting her bare, sculpted shoulders.

Without realizing it Scam found himself moving a little closer towards her, something Sam didn't notice as she kept venting to him having lost any awareness of whom she was speaking to, just busied with just letting everything out, conveying all her frustrations to the ears that were listening to her so patiently.

"And maybe … share a kiss with him, " she mused sullenly not being able to even remember the last time she'd been kissed. "It's been so long since I was last kiss-"

She was still in the process of saying those words when she was cut off by Scam who suddenly leaned over and pressed his lips against hers … in a kiss.

Sam's breath caught in her throat as her eyes went wide. For a moment she sat there stiff from shock but slowly, very slowly her eyelids fluttered as she closed her eyes. Scam's hands passed through her hair, his muscular fingers playing with it teasingly before they moved to her face and gently caressed her cheeks in lingering circles while he tugged her towards him.

Heat pooled inside her stomach and before she knew it, she was melting into his kiss. It was so tender, so warm, so … incredible. A moan of satisfaction came from deep in her throat as she began to kiss him back.

Scam tensed a little at that forwardness from her. Fully in his embrace now she felt his muscles contract in reaction but then he recovered to kiss her harder. His mouth parted and he traced the tip of his tongue against the crevices of her lower lip asking for entry into her mouth and she surrendered it to him seconds later. His tongue lazily traced the outline of hers before her tongue twirled around his and led it into a rigorous dance inside the confines of their mouths. The once chaste kiss was now a spectacular and passionate make out session that turned heads into their direction.

But Sam saw no one else as she focused on this kiss and the way it made her feel. God it had been so long since she'd felt this way. Eager for more she found herself grabbing at Scam's broad shoulders and pulling him even closer to her, closer and closer while the moments ticked by.

Although they were both growing light-headed they didn't let each other go until they'd gotten their fill and when they did at last begin to pull apart, they did so in slow, reluctant pecks, each one softer and farther apart till they were finally too out of breath to go on any longer.

The kiss now over Sam slowly opened her eyes halfway, inhaling and exhaling hard while she stared back at the man who'd left her breathless. That kiss … had been amazing.

She stared at him speechlessly, her cheeks aflame and her lips still tingling from the unforgiving assault of his own as she saw how smoky, dark, and alluring his gaze was in this moment. His eyes were even more captivating in the dim lighting, so much so that she felt herself getting sucked into them like a moth helplessly drawn to a flame. And his expression proved that he could tell he was having that effect on her senses so of course he was left grunting in absolute shock when just seconds later she raised her hand and backhanded him right across his handsome face.

The sound of her slap echoed across the room and sliced through the soft music effectively putting a damper on the romantic atmosphere. She glared hard at him as he attempted to recover from the hit and found herself shaking, conveying that it was him she was angered at and not herself for enjoying what he'd done to her, for kissing him back, for feeling _that spark _she'd so long been longing to feel with someone.

Of all the men on this vast planet, out of every single one of the millions of them that existed … why did it have to be him? Why Tim Scam? Why? Why? Why? Why?!

She then shook her head and desperately convinced herself that no, she hadn't liked that kiss, she hadn't felt anything before, during, or after it but contempt, and her heart wasn't beating out of her chest right now. Now back to her senses she started angrily shouting at the man who sat there looking bewildered still processing what had just happened and rubbing his cheek from the impact of it.

"Who said you could kiss me?!" She spat in a disgusted manner. "Did you think I'd want a kiss from YOU of all men Scam? Really?! I'm not _that _desperate!" Standing up she tossed the napkin that had been spread across her lap down onto the tabletop with a huff as she grabbed her purse in one hand and shoved in her chair with the other. "I was just venting! I wasn't throwing myself a pity party and even if I was, I sure as hell didn't invite YOU to it!"

With that she ran out of the restaurant leaving Scam behind to deal with the gossipy whispers of the onlooking audience. Although still dazed from both the kiss (which he'd found incredible before she literally slapped the taste of it out of his mouth) and more so her igneous reaction to it, he got up on his feet and followed after her.

Sam was standing on the sidewalk trying to hail a cab while muttering to herself under her breath, still in total disbelief at what had taken place tonight. "The nerve of that guy!" She ranted fully ignoring her part in what had happened. "How dare he?!"

A taxi was just about nearing her when she gasped feeling her wrist being grabbed from behind. And before she could even react she was dragged off her heels and into a nearby alleyway. Feeling her back collide against a brick wall and a strong, studly, male body pinning her to it hard, Sam immediately lifted her leg to kick him in the crotch only to be stopped with ease.

And when she saw the telltale, deep, sea green eyes glaring at her warningly she realized why she wasn't being able to get herself out of his hold so quickly. It was Tim Scam and he didn't look thrilled.

"Okay, what's your problem?!" He hissed right into her face like a wounded snake.

Sam looked back at him silently and immediately noticed the mark on his cheek, the red hand-print that she'd left on it which was so dark that it could be seen even in the pitch blackness of the midnight hour that it now was. She hadn't realized she'd actually slapped him quite that hard but seeing what he'd done? She honestly didn't regret it.

"One second we're making out and in the next you slap me?" He barked at her. Uncomfortable with him bringing up something she was so desperate to forget Sam didn't engage the conversation and just demanded that he release her.

"Let me go," she ordered firmly.

"**NO**," he denied her request with an even firmer tone.

Annoyed she shot him a glare and spoke more menacingly, letting him know that if he didn't take his hands off her right this second then she would just make him. "I've got pepper spray in my purse _Scam_."

He didn't react to that bold threat in the way that she'd hoped and just gave her a half smirk only squishing her more with the weight of his strong body as he resisted the urge to burst out laughing.

Was she really that far gone that she was trying to scare _him_ off with some pepper spray? Did she not remember who he was? Better yet had she forgotten who _she was_? The super spy? The trained fighter? It seemed that she had because the Samantha of the past would not be making such idle threats. No, she'd be kicking his ass right then and there.

Hearing her tell him to unhand her once more he shook his head, tightening the grip of his hands on her small wrists as he held them to the wall and growled at her darkly. "You slapped me!"

To which Sam said without missing a single beat. "You kissed me!" Accusingly and with a hot, acidic glare that practically screamed at him that he'd deserved it.

But instead of backing off he countered with four words that left her deeply ashamed. "…You kissed me _BACK_."

Sam averted his eyes, her face growing red from embarrassment. She stood there staring at the dirty cement ground for a few seconds and regaining her composure before she again demanded for him to let her go. She didn't want to have this conversation and no matter what it took she wasn't going to.

"Leave me alone!" She scowled at him while throwing her body around against the wall, frantically trying to remove his from on top of hers.

"Not until I get some answers!" He snapped leaving her limply twisting her wrists in a desperate attempt to break free from his grasp. Soon growing tired she screamed as loud as she could. She was done messing around. "LET ME GO **NOW **SCAM!"

But still he held onto her, refusing to let her escape from him.

**"My daughter is waiting for me!" **Sam finally burst out leaving his eyes to nearly pop from his sockets. His hold weakened then, a side effect of the monumental shock he experienced at her unexpected words and she took that second to push him off of her and run as fast as she could away from him.

She ran down the block before jumping into the taxi and taking off leaving Tim Scam standing there still in the alleyway with her words ringing violently in his ears.

_"My daughter is waiting for me!"_

_"My daughter is waiting for me!"_

_"My __**daughter**__ is waiting for me!"_

And he realized right then that a lot more had happened to Sam Simpson in these missing years than she'd earlier revealed to him.

Sam was now … a mother.

* * *

Feels like a good stopping point so imma stop haha.

Sooooo… thoughts? On Sam? On Scam? On the kiss? On her kid? *wiggles eyebrows*

I know a lot happened in this chapter but that's probably because I was just writing off the top of my head. I kinda wanted to get up to this point so I kept writing till I got to it.

Will there be more? Should there be more? That's up to you guys!

If you read this, I'd love to **hear **from you guys! Review? ^-^

_Thank you!_

_Cres _


	2. Chapter 2

Fastest update in a long time yes?** YES? **I think so!

Your reviews were very heart-warming so I decided why not continue already? ^-^

Also thank you SO MUCH for the **favs** and **follows**! They honestly mean more than words to me! :)

**Disclaimer:**** TS DOES NOT BELONG TO ME. YES I STILL HAVE NOT MANAGED IN ACQUIRING IT SINCE THE LAST CHAPTER OF THIS WAS POSTED. *sighs painfully***

* * *

Closing the door to his bachelor pad Scam turned off his phone, completely ignoring the many messages from his best friend Darren which ranged in topic from asking if it was indeed true that he'd been slapped silly by some pretty girl tonight in his restaurant in front of hundreds of people and if he'd truly missed _that show _to where he was right now and why he wasn't answering him.

Tossing his keys on the coffee table he slowly ventured inside not even bothering to turn on the lights. He'd decided not to go home but instead hide out here while he recovered from the bombshell that had been delivered to him tonight.

His hand slowly moved up to touch his face still feeling a lingering sensation of two things hovering there despite a half hour having passed. His fingertips ghosted over his lips as he remembered Sam's sizzling kiss before proceeding to his throbbing cheek as he recalled Sam's thunderous slap. His ears were still ringing from it and from the words she'd screamed afterwards when he'd cornered her in that alleyway.

And standing here right now he still was in disbelief that she was actually a mother. He had so many questions about her motherhood. All she'd told him was that she had a daughter. How? When? And most importantly ... who was the father? Was he still in the picture? But he couldn't be seeing Sam had been out searching for love when she'd run into him instead.

Moving towards the trio of sleek, black leather couches that sat in his living room he took off his coat before chucking it along with his shoes. His shirt went next as he pulled it up and over his head, stripping down to just his pants before walking over and grabbing a glass from the mini-bar near the spiral stairway that led up to his bedroom. A fuzzy reflection of his distracted face could be seen in the glossy metal of the fridge as he reached for the alcohol he desperately needed in his system right now.

Setting the glass on the counter he poured some rum, ginger beer and lime juice into it preparing himself a Dark & Stormy which reflected his mood as he couldn't help but remember their steamy little encounter. Sipping his drink as he stood there in the dark, he remained caught up in it entirely. It was as though every moment of it was engraved into his mind forever.

How sexy she'd looked in her flattering red dress, how she'd talked to him so freely, but most of all how her delicious and soft pink lips had moved so eagerly, so _feverishly_ against his own when he'd kissed her.

A hiss left him as he tried to put it out of his mind but was unable to. Even when he glanced out at the gorgeous view of the glistening city lights from his floor to ceiling windows all he could think of was her.

He was still riled up from it all, Sam had left him wounded both physically and mentally. While his kissing her had been mostly impulse and inability to resist temptation (something he'd always struggled with all his life although he liked to think he was getting better at self-control as he'd matured) he couldn't deny that he'd felt something else as he'd planted his lips onto her own.

A spark.

It had been there right before the kiss had happened and had quickly fanned into an uncontrollable wildfire when he'd felt her kiss him back. Only to die down at once when she'd extinguished the roaring flames with her sobering reaction.

And it bothered him. Not just because he'd been humiliated so thoroughly in a public space but because of how much he'd enjoyed the experience of their blazing kiss while she had seemingly loathed it.

But why oh why then had she kissed him back? If she hated him so much she should not have. She should have immediately shoved him away from her not passionately make out with him in the manner that she had. Or perhaps she'd just kissed him back because she'd wanted to share a kiss with a guy so badly like she'd said seconds before he had granted her wish. Maybe she'd have done the same with any man in that instance and he wasn't anything special.

Yet that thought only set his entire being on fire because he knew he wanted it to be more that just _that_ for her because it had been more than that for _him_. Not just a moment of thirst, of weakness brought on by a woman's loneliness but evidence of actual, mutual ... attraction.

Which of the two had it been for her? He greatly wanted to know yet he had no answers. A long sigh left his mouth and he found himself annoyed at how purely lovelorn it sounded to his own ears.

Part of him wanted to track her down and force her to tell him everything he had been left wondering about her with those same lips she'd used to dare provoke dormant parts of him with … while part of him wanted to _never_ see her again.

* * *

Standing in the small, dark kitchen Clover lightly hummed to herself as she poured herself the coffee she'd made. A yawn left her but she smiled, not caring about her fatigue because she could only think of one thing.

Sam's date must be going really well for once, she'd expected her to be back hours ago but it was close to 2 am and she was still not home. Sam's dates never went on this long, most guys bolted the second they found out she had a kid (a fact Sam didn't like to hide thinking that concealing what was such a big part of her existence now would be being dishonest) so this was an encouraging sign.

And her smile widened as she realized that that funny feeling she'd had when she'd woken up this morning had been right. For some reason her gut had told her that this date was going to be the one, the one where Sam finally found Mr. Right. And it seemed she had been right.

Her happiness still showing clearly on her sleepy face she walked back into the living room where she'd been sitting reading through the large stack of Sam's fashion magazines, not wanting to watch TV in case the sound woke up Sam's sleeping angel.

As she made herself comfortable on the couch with her a mug in hand she couldn't help but think about her. Sam's baby girl. If everything went well tonight then perhaps at long last the little one would have what she'd wanted for so long, what every little girl deserved to have ... a dad.

She was stirred from her thoughts when the bedroom door creaked open slowly and small yawn caught her hearing. She looked up from her reading to find exactly who she'd just been thinking of in the doorway. Sam's four-year-old daughter, Josie was standing there in her light blue pyjamas featuring her favourite Disney princess Cinderella, sleepily rubbing her little eyes.

Josie was a splitting image of her mom. In fact it was next to impossible to see any trace of her father in her whatsoever. She seemed to just be exclusively Sam's mini me. She possessed the same wavy, red locks, although hers were styled in a cute bob, shining emerald eyes, and tiny button like nose. Her skin was also ivory pale like Sam's and Clover was confident she was the cutest little girl that could ever exist.

The little one's eyes lit up like the moon itself when she recognized her. A happy gasp of delight left her as she bounced over to her screaming joyfully. "Auntie Clover!"

Grinning wide Clover slid off the couch and knelt down on the floor, her arms open for her as Josie ran into them and snuggled her tiny face into her chest.

She hugged her tightly and affectionately stroked her hair. She didn't have the words to describe how much she loved this little girl. It was almost as if she herself had become a mother once Sam had brought her into the world. She still remembered being at the hospital and being the first person after Sam to hold her in her arms. Life had changed so much from that moment but Josie was still the ray of sunshine that she had been from the second that she'd been born.

Hearing Josie ask her if she was here for a sleepover, Clover laughed and said sort of, telling her that she was here to watch over her until her mom came back.

"Where mommy?" Josie asked, just now realizing Sam wasn't home. Clover wondered what to tell her for a moment before leaning close to her and asking if she could keep a secret. Josie's eyes sparkled again in excitement as she nodded her head up and down rigorously letting her know she could always trust her to do that.

Clover smiled before whispering in her ear. "She's gone to meet daddy."

But the minute she said those words Josie's happy mood faded. She let out a small sigh as she separated from her and pouted sadly.

"What's wrong kiddo?" Clover asked automatically concerned and her heart almost broke into pieces inside her chest when she heard Josie mumble what her mother had told her once when she'd asked about her dad, naturally curious about her missing father because everyone in her kindergarten class but her seemed to have one.

"Daddy left ... he never coming back."

Fighting back tears Clover shook her head no and cuddled Josie close again not wanting her to think such hurtful things.

"That wasn't your real daddy sweetie," She assured her. "A real daddy would _never_ leave his little girl, especially not one as perfect as you are."

Her blue eyes narrowed in hate as she thought about the despicable man who had so ruthlessly cut all ties with Sam after finding out she was having his child. How badly he'd used her for his own pleasure and in the end, gotten away with it with no consequences while Sam's life had turned into actual hell due to his actions and lack of conscience. She only wished that karma would get him some day because Sam had dissuaded her from hunting him down and kicking his ass herself, opting to take the high road and just forget about him entirely.

"He was a fake daddy," Clover went on trying to console Josie.

"...Fake daddy?" Josie whispered as she stared back at her confusion not understanding what that meant.

Clover thought long and hard wondering how to explain this to her before she snapped her fingers having figured it out. "You know how mommy takes you to the mall during Christmas time and puts you on Santa's lap? How that's not really Santa right?"

"Yea," Josie nodded with not even a second's hesitation and Clover couldn't help but smile at how much of her mother's daughter she was, already too sharp to be duped with such a charade even at this small age.

"Well it's the same thing honey," she shrugged. "He wasn't your real dad! Your real daddy is out there pumpkin, he's just... lost. We just have to find him." Pausing in her pep talk she gently raised Josie's small chin and smiled at her lovingly. "And when he comes home, he's going to give you so much love that you won't even know what to do with it."

"And mommy?" Josie asked leaving Clover to gently poke her nose and grin. "Mommy too sweetie. And he'll never leave either of you, I promise," she said crossing her hand over her heart to show that she was being completely sincere.

Seeing the doubtful look on Josie's kid face, Clover sighed, faking offence at not being trusted. "Have I ever lied to you?" She asked giving her a pointed look.

"No," Josie admitted just seconds later. She couldn't remember her auntie Clover ever not keeping her word to her.

"Exactly. I would _never _lie to you, And to prove it..." Clover went back over to where she'd left her purse, coat, and other belongings and fished around in a shopping bag soon returning with something held behind her back. She waited till she was right in front of Josie before holding it out to her. "This is for you!"

A happy gasp and a childish squeal of pure joy left Josie's lips as she immediately reached out for the plushie she held, something she'd been hoping to give to her when Sam wasn't looking because she already complained that she spoiled Josie way too much.

"Pwince Charming!" She exclaimed hugging the stuffed version of Cinderella's prince she'd wanted forever and sighing dreamily.

"Just as I promised!" Clover quipped smiling as she watched Josie jump up and down before she hugged her again to thank her for her new toy.

Hugging her back for a minute Clover then kissed her forehead before ushering her off to bed again. "Now go on, back to sleep. You don't want mommy to come home and catch you up at this time. She may never let me baby-sit again if she does!"

That warning was all that it took for Josie to run off back to the bedroom and soon she could hear snores coming from her room again. She got up to make sure she was tucked in properly, pulling her blanket up all the way to her chin before she sat back down in her seat only for the door to open and for Sam to finally walk in.

"There you are!" She said chirpily, immediately getting up to ask her how her date was.

But one look at Sam's troubled face prevented her from doing so. "Wh-what's wrong Sammie?" Clover asked now worried as she stood there visibly fuming with her eyes dark from rage and her lips red and swollen.

Sam didn't answer her as she messily threw her purse on the floor and proceeded to head straight into the bathroom. Clover heard the tap turn on and walked over to see Sam washing her face, making a mess of her makeup and aggressively scrubbing her lips with the back of her hands. Her erratic behaviour only added to her concerns and Clover again asked her what was wrong. Had Nathan done something to upset her?

"No," Sam said curtly. "My date with Nathan ended in like fifteen minutes," she informed her as she grabbed a towel off the rack and patted her face with it.

Confused Clover could only stare back at her. If her date had ended that quickly then where had she been all night?

As if she could read her thoughts Sam glared before telling her where she'd been and with whom. "I ran into someone while I was at that restaurant," she confessed then for some reason looked down at her feet as she muttered. "...A face from my past."

Immediately Clover's heart sank as she could only think of one person who could get Sam this upset. "Oh god," she whispered before repeating those two words several times as she went over and hugged the redhead. Holding her close she braced herself for impact before asking her if she'd run into _him._

"Not him," She corrected breaking the hug as she shook her head no to confirm to her that it hadn't been Josie's dad she'd run into but another bastard. Clover breathed a sigh of relief that it hadn't been that asshole that had ruined her night. But then ... who had?

Just a second later, Sam solved the mystery for her.

**"Tim Scam."**

"WHAT?!" Clover screamed unable to help herself due to what she was hearing. Sam had run into Tim Scam? How was that even possible? Wasn't he supposed to be in jail? She was about to ask but then stopped herself remembering what a menace that man used to be; he'd probably broken out of WOOHP prison again. But what on earth had he been doing at that restaurant? Just casually having a meal?

For the next ten minutes Sam summarized exactly what had gone down just hours ago. How that restaurant had turned out to be an establishment owned by one of Scam's friends and he was his business partner. How he had turned his criminal life around to become a successful businessman among other things he'd told her during their little chitchat.

"So he's ... reformed?" Clover said slowly, trying her hardest to process the impossible fact that Tim Scam had given up crime. "For real? For good?" She asked.

Sam nodded in confirmation. "Yea ... he's a changed man. At least that's what he_ said_."

Clover's eyes narrowed picking up on the way she'd said that. It almost sounded like Scam had done something in front of her to contradict his newfound way of life. And Sam had come home majorly ticked off so just what had he done? Had he committed some evil crime that Sam had witnessed and was mad at him for pretending he was no longer up to such schemes?

Unable to bear this secret any longer Sam sighed long and hard before telling Clover just what he'd done tonight.

"... He kissed me."

Again Clover found herself screaming while her eyes bulged, threatening to just jump out of her sockets.

**"HE WHAT?!"** She half squeaked, half gasped before lowering her tone for Josie's sake when she thought she heard movement from inside her room.

"I know right?" Sam shuddered looking disgusted as she once more wiped off her lips as if still trying to chase away the _unpleasant _feeling of Scam's on them. "The nerve of that... that...creep!" She spat as she kicked off her high heels and huffed from deep in her chest. "I was just talking about my life because heeeeee wanted to know and I guess that my decision to entertain his curiosity and not just get up and walk away read as some kind of invitation to him and he kissed me!"

"... And uh …. how did you react?"

Sam froze up at Clover's unexpected question. For a moment she stood there thinking about how she'd reacted to it truthfully. Her face became coloured as red as the flashy dress she still had on as she remembered the epic make out that had resulted from it, the after affects of which she could still feel all over her body despite trying so hard to block it all out like a bad dream.

But she couldn't tell Clover about that. No, she'd get the wrong idea if she fessed up that she'd responded to his kiss at all let alone that keenly.

Waiting for Sam to say something, Clover could not help but pick up on how long it was taking her nor how uncomfortable she looked at being asked this. She watched her fidget as if being guilty of withholding information before she finally snapped out a reply. "How do you think? I slapped him! Duh!"

"… So you slapped him?" Clover said slowly, arms crossed over her chest because she'd noticed the strong note of defensiveness in her voice when she'd said that with so much ... hostility.

"Yea," Sam nodded now looking proud of herself. "Right across the face."

"..."

Clover didn't say anything in response as she thought over Sam's version of events and the more she did, honestly? Something didn't _quite_ add up.

"Soooo you spent the night talking to him, at the end of which he made a pass at you, and you immediately rejected him and slapped him for it? Was that how it went?"

Sam blinked back at Clover not understanding why she sounded so … suspicious. Almost like she didn't believe her. Standing her ground she nodded again firmly. "Yea."

"Huh," she said shortly seeming to drop the subject at last and Sam took the moment to almost escape until she spoke again stopping her in her tracks.

"So … what does Scam _look like _now?"

Totally thrown off by the weird question, Sam's head snapped to where she stood as she gave the blonde a quizzical look. Why was she asking her something so stupid?

"I'm just wondering how you knew for sure that it was him, that's all," Clover said raising her hands as if to say she had harmless intentions for wanting an update on Scam's looks after five years.

Sam's mouth remained sealed for a few as a fresh image of Tim Scam summoned itself into her mind. He stood there behind her mind's eye dressed in the all black attire he'd been wearing hours ago. Black trench coat, black t-shirt, black jeans just like some shadow man, an incubus especially with those unearthly, hypnotic sea foam eyes and that maddening smirk. He'd looked as he'd always had from the moment she'd met him all those years ago. Devilish, handsome… _Devilishly handsome_.

She shook her head harshly, annoyed at her idiotic thoughts. "Oh it was him alright!" She growled, not giving Clover any of the details that she clearly wanted. "He admitted as much and he has not changed. Not one bit!"

She turned to go change into her sleeping clothes only to hear Clover let out a small giggle. And she wondered why she was laughing but only until she heard her next comment.

"So … he's still _hot _then?"

Turning her head over her shoulder she was shocked to see the smallest of sly grins tugging at the blonde's lips. And suddenly she knew exactly what tangent she was going on. She didn't like it.

Sam rolled her eyes before snorting. "I'm NOT having this conversation Clover. In fact I don't want to think about him or that stupid date. In fact I don't think I want to go on another date for a long, long, LONG time if ever again!"

With that rant Sam stomped off to bed leaving Clover behind with hundreds of unanswered questions. Sighing she knew that she'd left to prevent having to give her those but try as she might she just could not accept that that was all there was to what had happened tonight. It just felt like Sam was hiding something from her.

Clover remained deep in thought as she sorted through the information she'd stingily been given by Sam. She'd talked to Tim Scam, admitted that she'd opened up to him and he had to her also to tell her that he was a free man and no longer an escapee from the law. She'd spent more time with him this night than she had with any other man in _eons_. And … he'd kissed her.

And while she was well aware that Tim Scam was a man of many (many, many, manyyyyy) faults, he'd never once in the past come across as a guy who was a pervert, who would force himself on a woman. No, they'd never had that fear fighting against him. He was no Jazz Hands or Max Exterminus or Black Knight, she thought recalling just some of the male baddies they'd one faced who hadn't been so good with keeping their hands to themselves unlike him.

So how then did Scam end up kissing Sam tonight? And more importantly … why?

She knew she needed to get to the bottom of this and knowing that Sam wasn't going to help her, that left her with just one option.

And that was finding Tim Scam wherever he was and confronting _him_.

But how was she going to locate him in this vast city filled with millions of people?

Suddenly she felt hope as she recalled that Sam had mentioned that that restaurant she'd set up her date in had been owned by Scam's friend and business partner.

So all she had to do was follow that trail and with some luck and use of the spy skills she'd honed in the past, it should lead her right to Tim Scam who hopefully would give her the full story on exactly _what_ had happened between Sam and himself tonight.

* * *

As you can probably tell, unlike most fics of mine ... Clover is going to be a_ major character _in this story. Reasons why will be revealed real soon if I update again. Your reactions will decide if that happens sooner or later! ^-^

Excited to hear what you guys thought as always! Especially about little Josie Simpson! :D We finally meet her yay!

Anyway! **Please review**? :D

_Thank you always,_

_Cres _


	3. Chapter 3

I have a bad habit of writing new fics and never updating them again so attempting to break the curse with this one especially since you guys have been **SO KIND** in the comments! :D

So here I am with chapter 3!

Again thank you all **SO** much for the **favs** and **follows**! It truly warms my heart to see you guys showing interest in this new story of mine! :)

Disclaimer: NOPE. STILL NO PROGRESS IN GAINING THE RIGHTS TO TS. *sobs*

* * *

A low moan left Sam's lips as she tossed and turned again. Behind her closed eyes her encounter with Tim Scam replayed itself in full color and stereophonic sound like a scene from a movie but this time it went much further than it had earlier that night...

_Sam mewled, her eyes sealing themselves tight as she felt the steaminess of his burning mouth touch the bare notch of her jugular and feelings she hadn't experienced in so long reawakened inside her with such a force that she could not contain them. _

_She helplessly moaned, her long, red, painted nails scaling Scam's broad back every which way as they tore through the black wool of his trench coat while he kept her pinned with the strength of his body against the cold bricks of the dark alley wall. _

_A purr left her mouth as his right hand, big and searing with heat trailed her entire form and ignited it with its provocative touch. It brushed her knee, then moved up the inside of her thigh, pausing to play with the slit in her dress and tickle her naked flesh before it proceeded to her hip, slithered up her waist then at last crawled all the way to her breast and cupped it firmly. _

_Feeling him squeeze at her there and then chuckle in amusement at the startled sound she made at his overt brazenness, Sam growled. Wanting some payback for this blissful torture he was making her endure her hands moved up from his back to the back of his head, her fingers twisting into his hair as she grabbed his cropped, chestnut strands in her fists and used them to drag his face back up to hers once more. _

_Their eyes both shadowy as the night around them met for a split second, emerald blending into sea foam as they exchanged a sizzling look of blazing lust before her mouth slammed against his in another clamorous kiss which he more than eagerly responded to. _

_But it wasn't enough for her. She craved more. She needed more. God how she needed more._

_Her hands released his face and instead grabbed his waist. With it she lured him even closer to herself ignoring that there was already no space left between them. She groaned loudly into his mouth, threw caution to the wind, and moved again shoving both her hands under the tight fabric of his black t-shirt allowing them to finally touch the bare surface of his smooth skin as they'd been itching to all night long. _

_The fact that her mouth was muffling his didn't stop him from grunting in surprise as he felt her feeling up his body, caressing the abs and muscles that were overbearing in the planes of his buff torso._

_But his shock only lasted half a second as he responded to this boldness of hers with some more of his own. _

_His fingers swiped at her back expertly locating the silver zipper of her dress. And this time it was she who gasped when in one swift motion, he ripped it down completely exposing her... _

A yelp leaving her Sam sat up in the bed with a start. Her heart panged hard inside her, her entire body shook as she looked around half expecting to find Scam there with her in the confines of her small bedroom. But he wasn't there and with that realization she finally started to calm down.

Her hands held her face as she sat there still exhaling and inhaling deeply in reaction to the vision she'd just seen. As much as she'd been trying not to think about it, it seemed that because it had just been _so long_ since she'd last been with a man, that her mind was fixated on Tim Scam because of that kiss she'd regrettably shared with him.

She tried scolding it to stop because what was done was done. There was no point harbouring guilt over it. She couldn't go back and erase it from existence and she had to stop driving herself crazy.

She was safe from him, nothing more was ever going to happen between them. She was far away from that restaurant and no longer in that alley. Scam wasn't going to come stalk her in the night, he wasn't going to find her. Heck, he didn't even know where she lived. That was just one chance run-in and it was over. She had to stop ... _fantasizing_ about it.

Still feeling her adrenaline pumping hard and seeking some clarity she threw off her blanket and got up leaving her room and heading into another. Slowly and quietly to not wake her, she cracked open the door to her daughter's room and instantly she found solace as she looked upon her sleeping angel.

Josie lay on the bed curled up with her small arms hugging a stuffed toy. One of her tiny feet were sticking out of her blue blanket and soft snores escaped her nostrils as she sucked on her thumb.

Her heart melting to mush inside her, Sam walked over to her and sat on the edge of the bed. Reaching out she tenderly stroked her crimson hair and carefully pulled her hand from mouth holding it in her own as she shifted on the mattress and lay down beside her.

Cuddling her little darling close to her chest she was finally able to sleep peacefully for the rest of the night.

* * *

His leather gloved hand aimed another hard blow towards the punching bag dangling before him and then another and then another one while sweat trickled down his shirtless body. It was well past 4 am yet no matter what he did, he just couldn't shut himself off. And there was one reason, just _one reason_ for the insane restlessness he was feeling.

"Damn it!" he hissed as he landed one final punch that almost took the bag off its mount and come crashing down to the floor. Scam ran a hand through his already messy hair making it stand on end as a groan of complaint left him at not even this, pushing himself past the brink of exhaustion, doing anything to take his mind off what seemed to now be its favourite subject.

"Samantha Simpson, get the hell out of my head!" He shouted in the dark, the echoes of his scream reverberating throughout the room only to come back to his own ears and again remind him of her. It was funny how one little meeting, one small glimpse of her could disturb the peace that he'd had for so many years. And he could only wonder why that was.

Was it because seeing an old enemy out of the blue like that had stumped him? Or was it perhaps instead because a fragment of his past, the one that had been _missing_ in the puzzle of his present all along, suddenly came and stood before him giving him a shot at finally getting it this time?

Suddenly a knock at his front door cut through the buzzing of his thoughts. His eyes went wide as his heart raced with anticipation. Could it be? Her? Here and now? Again?

Unable to stop himself he walked over to the door in big steps and ripped it open honestly expecting to see a fiery redhead with limpid green eyes only to growl when he saw the smirking man standing there instead.

"Should have known this is where you'd be," the black-haired, blue-eyed male who was of equal age to him taunted as he shrugged. "Dunno why I wasted my time dropping by the house, of course you'd be in_ hiding _after being slapped."

_Darren._

Scam bit his cheek hard to keep from screaming. Why did he put up with him?

He did his best to keep his face blank and not reveal that he'd only opened this door tonight on the chance that it may be a certain lady in red dropping by to take care of the business she'd left unfinished with him hours prior.

But even without him saying those words, Darren seemed to extract them from his silence as he took a good look at him before letting out a low whistle and shaking his head while looking amused. "She stung you good didn't she?"

He dared to laugh at him as his eyes landed smack dab on the red splotch in a shape of a dainty, female hand which was still apparent on the tanned skin of his left cheek. "Yea, you're still in pain."

"What do you want Darren?!" Scam snapped infuriated, unable to deal with this any longer. Was it too much to ask to be left alone to brood in peace?

"The story," Darren answered simply as he pushed past him and let himself into his abode. "…Or rather the audio of it as I've already seen the picture."

He grinned as he pulled something out of the pocket of his jeans, an SD card and held it up for him to see.

Scam's jaw dropped recognizing that it came from one of the restaurant's security cameras. And he didn't have to guess to know exactly what footage was captured on it. He hadn't watched it, had he? Oh wait a minute, he'd already told him that he had.

Scam growled and immediately snatched it before snapping that he was not having this conversation and barking at him to get out.

"Relaaaaaax romeo!" Darren chuckled amused and stepped back holding up his hands in defence when Tim almost swung at him for calling him that. "I didn't come here just to poke your wounds, I also brought those papers you wanted from me. Documents from the Bates acquisition?"

Scam blinked for a quiet moment as he slowly remembered the actual reason he'd been at Darren's restaurant tonight. Something he'd entirely forgotten about after his unexpected little adventure with Sam.

"So if you don't want to talk, can we at least work?" Darren suggested harmlessly enough.

Scam slowly nodded, turning on some lights to make the place more welcoming but not before giving his partner a warning look to keep this visit of his just about business and nothing more.

As Darren made himself comfortable on a couch he went to go freshen up with a quick shower and make some coffee, fully giving up on trying to sleep because by now he'd accepted it wasn't going to happen. He might as well use this time productively.

But all the while he found himself hoping that he would actually be able to focus on work because honestly? He hadn't been able to on anything else since seeing _her_.

* * *

"Wake up Sleepyhead!" Sam called out playfully as she tickled her daughter's belly the next morning.

Josie let out a loud squeal and erupted into a fit of uncontrollable giggles while she begged her to please stop.

"Mommy n-no! Mommy pwease! I-it tickles!" She wheezed out while squirming to get away from her and Sam giggled finally taking mercy on her. Letting her recover her oxygen Sam watched her for a long moment with loving, motherly eyes before gently stroking her forehead as she spoke to her in gentle whispers. "Did my little princess sleep well? Mommy's sorry for going out like that last night without telling you."

"It okay mommy," Josie smiled up at her forgiving her easily. Her mommy was always so busy working that she didn't like making her feel bad if she couldn't be around sometimes. "I had fun with Auntie Clover!"

"You sure love your auntie Clover, don't you?" Sam asked and Josie nodded her head so hard that she almost resembled a Bobblehead doll. And Sam could not say just how grateful she was for the blonde. Honestly if she didn't have her in her life then she'd have fallen apart entirely so long ago. She was the only friend that she hadn't lost, the only one she hadn't managed to ... _push away_.

Thoughts of a certain raven-haired, amber-eyed girl who had once been just as close to her as Clover, had been like a sister she'd wanted but never had came back to torment her. Her face fell as she remembered Alexandra Vasquez. A woman that no doubt Josie would love like an aunt just as greatly as she did Clover but she'd never even met her and now, after this many years ... she didn't think she _ever _would.

Alex and Clover still kept in touch; a phone call here, a text message there but she hadn't heard from or seen Alex in years. She also knew that whenever Clover tried to update her on her life, Alex always shut down the conversation. And for good reason. Why would she want to know anything about someone she_ hated_?

Feeling her eyes moisten as they always did when she reflected back on her own stupidity that had led to nothing but burnt bridges and scorched relationships with so many people she'd loved and cherished, Sam sought a distraction to stop her tears. Seconds later she thankfully found one.

Her eyes suddenly narrowed as they finally noticed the plush toy that Josie had been clutching in her sleep. She'd never seen it before. "Josie where did this come from?" Sam asked as she pointed to the doll that lay face down on the mattress amidst the covers.

Josie looked to her side to see that her mommy was pointing at her prince charming doll that she was supposed to keep hidden. _"Uh oh!"_ She thought before twiddling her thumbs as she thought long and hard for a way to keep this secret still.

"... My stowybook?" She whispered a moment later raising her chubby arm and pointing to the shelf in her room that all her books were placed on and smiling cutely hoping that that would work.

"Josiiiiiie," Sam muttered sternly letting her know that it didn't and with a small sigh she looked down in her lap and quietly mumbled out the truth to her mom. "Auntie Clover."

"Auntie Clover!" Sam repeated rolling her eyes. As much as she appreciated her, Clover really needed to stop giving Josie whatever she set her eyes on. It would make her grow up to think that everything in life was attainable just because you wanted it, something that couldn't be further from reality.

Grumbling to herself Sam picked up the doll. "I'm gonna have to have a word with Clover about this," she huffed as she inspected the toy to see if it was still in a good enough condition to be returned to the store it had come from. Thankfully it was and she moved to stash it until she could take it back only to stop at the sound of small, and very miserable sounding voice speaking up from behind her.

"...It not vewy nice to take Pwince Charming away from a pwincess mommy."

Sam's eyes went wide and she dropped her head in defeat finding herself smiling at just how cute her little Josie was. And try as she might ... she just couldn't do it.

"Okay..." she said turning back around and holding the prince out to her sadly pouting kid. "You can keep him. Just this one, last time."

Josie squealed in joy and almost tumbled over as she grabbed him from her hands. With a moony look on her face she hugged him and sighed happily.

Sam watched her just do that, look so content with her prince and she couldn't stop some words from slipping from her lips.

"...As long as you realize that he's just a toy."

Her words caught Josie's attention immediately and her little girl looked up at her with visible confusion all over her face.

"Prince Charming doesn't exist in real life honey," Sam found herself counselling, advising her already. "Not for most girls anyway."

"He does too!" Josie argued while tightening her grip on her doll determinedly.

But Sam shook her head, wanting her to understand this important life lesson before she ended up hurt one day like she had. "No sweetie, Prince Charming is just make believe. Save for a few lucky girls, a..." She wondered how to say this before she spoke again. "Few chosen princesses."

"Make bewieve?" She heard Josie ask and she nodded elaborating. "There are no castles in real life, no magical fairy godmothers, and rarely _ever_ a handsome prince on a white horse just waiting to rescue you from your miseries."

No, he was more likely to be the reason for your suffering in the first place, Sam thought, unforgotten bitterness overriding her once more.

But then she caught the scared look on little Josie's face and bit her tongue to stop it from saying more. As much as she wanted to protect her and ensure that she didn't make the same mistakes that she had, Josie was just too small, too young to get this yet. It was best to let her stay innocent a little while longer, to let her dream while she still could.

A knock sounded at the door at just the right time and Josie's eyes lit up once more as excitement spread across every inch of her small face. "Auntie Clover!"

"Yes that should be your auntie Clover," Sam said as she went to let her in. They were supposed to take Josie to the park this morning and then have lunch together.

But the second the door opened Sam was surprised to see how glamorously Clover was dressed in a hot, pink dress with flawless makeup, looking more like she was going to a party instead of just the park.

She was about to ask her what was up when Clover gave her an apologetic look and told her that she had to cancel their plans today.

"I'm sooo sorry Sammie! But my agent told me about this job that I just couldn't pass up!"

Sam nodded her head in understanding unable to find it in herself to be upset. Clover never cancelled her plans especially when they had to do with Josie, this had to be a super important modelling offer and she wouldn't be anything but happy for her landing it.

But Josie was not so understanding as she stamped her feet and pouted hard having run to the door also, too excited to see Clover again so soon.

"Awww!" She whined leaving Clover to frown sadly as she immediately tried to comfort her.

"I'm sorry pumpkin, but it's super important," Clover tried to explain as she bent down to ruffle Josie's untidy bed head.

She was doing this for her anyway. Having gone to that restaurant after leaving Sam's place last night she'd been glad that she'd gotten her foot inside just as the doors were closing for the night.

After selling the lie to the staff about being a past acquaintance of Scam's (citing details like his rarely used middle name that she'd seen in his WOOHP file once and other similar tidbits about him that only a friend would know) who'd lost touch and urgently needed to talk to him, she'd been led to the manager who'd kindly given her his office address and told her she could find him there clearly choosing not to tell her where he lived just in case she wasn't whom she claimed to be and was instead some crazy stalker. Apparently he got quite a few of those.

She'd then gone home and called his office to find out that it would be open tomorrow and she'd decided she'd drop by right away and that was just where she was headed now, something she couldn't reveal just yet.

Finding the mini redhead still pouting and looking at the wooden floor instead of at her, she sighed, trying again to seek her permission to go. "Can I go? Please Josie? Pretty, pretty please?"

Josie only stayed miffed for another minute before she dropped her frown. "Okie, you can go. But only if you tell mommy that she wong first!"

"Wrong about what?" Clover asked, easily translating Josie's kiddie talk because she was so used to hearing it. A second later she received her answer.

"Mommy said that Pwince Charming isn't weal!"

Sam ran a hand down her face and let out a long sigh at Josie once again tattling on her to Clover like this. The two of them honestly acted more like best friends than aunt and niece.

"She said what?!" Sam heard Clover say and she gave her a small, warning glare as she moved to get the bathroom ready to brush Josie's teeth and give her the shower she needed to before they had breakfast.

"Don't you get started now!" Sure Josie was a kid and didn't know better but Clover was a grown woman and knew she wasn't wrong about what she'd said.

But she was left surprised when Clover didn't back her up as she'd hoped she would and instead said something to Josie that she just couldn't understand.

"Wellllll maybe mommy says so because _her _Prince Charming is in ... disguise."

Sam froze in her place as she wondered what Clover meant with those words. The only man that Clover knew she'd fallen for was no prince. And his disguise had only been one of deceitfulness.

"...Dyzagous?" Josie epically mispronounced leaving Clover to laugh hard as she picked her up in her arms and rocked her while explaining.

"You know how sometimes a Prince Charming doesn't _seem _like a Prince Charming? Like in ... hmm..." She hummed under her breath in thought before continuing. "Beauty and the Beast! The prince doesn't seem like much of a prince at the beginning but we allllll know how the story ends! Sometimes it takes taking a second glance at a guy, a second chance to see who ... he _really _is."

Sam stood there in silence having listened to every word the blonde had said. And somehow she had a feeling that she wasn't talking about Josie's dad this time but ... Tim Scam.

She whipped around to look at Clover with questioning eyes but she immediately looked away with a nervous cough.

Putting Josie down Clover told herself to stop it because she was getting way too ahead of herself. She needed to stick to the plan and find out where Scam stood and what was really going on before blurting out things like that.

"Well I have to run! But I'll try my best to be back soon and then we'll all go out somewhere fun to make up for my missing the park. It'll be my treat!"

"Yay!" Josie screamed joyfully while Sam attempted to get out of this because Clover already did way too much for her and her daughter.

But before she could even open her mouth Clover saw it coming and held up her hand. "What? You_ won't _celebrate my big modelling gig with me?" She snorted offended. "Ugh! I thought we were best friends!"

Once again Sam found herself giving up. "Okay fine," she relented as Clover clapped her hands together and smirked. "That's much better! I'll see you later kay Sammie? Bye Josie!" Clover waved at the little one.

"Buh-bye Auntie!" Josie waved back at her as she turned and finally left.

When the door closed Clover took a deep breath in before hailing a cab to downtown L.A. towards her destination. A towering, black dual skyscraper building known as "The Scam Towers".

* * *

Sam had just finished doing the dishes from breakfast when there was knock at the door. Was Clover back already?

Glancing at Josie who was happily munching on the last few pieces of blueberry pancake that she'd cut for her with her big wooden spoon, Sam decided she was safe to go check who it was.

She grabbed a kitchen towel from its place on the knob of a high cupboard dying her hands off with it and taking off her apron before she went to the door. Opening it she smiled to see the face of the woman before her. It wasn't Clover but it was someone she had been looking forward to seeing.

"Kelsey," she nodded in greeting at the woman who was around her age and from the neighbourhood.

"Hi!" The auburn haired, hazel-eyed woman greeted back cheerfully. It was easy to see all the happiness on her face; she was absolutely glowing. But she knew why, didn't she? In one week ... Kelsey was getting married.

As she smiled back at her Sam could not help but feel the tiny bit of jealously she always did when this subject came up because for her, every wedding was a reminder of her sad past.

"I just came by to drop off the payment," Kelsey said holding out a white envelope to her with a kind smile and Sam felt nothing but relief fill her as she took it from her. Lifting the seal she was surprised to find more than they'd agreed on and looked back at Kelsey with her eyes wide.

Kelsey just shrugged and said, "It's more than deserved."

"Wow, thanks Kelsey..." Sam softly whispered when she found her voice. She could not put into words how grateful she was for her patronage. Kelsey would never know that she had just saved her from not having enough to pay off this month's rent with her generosity.

"I should be thanking you," Kelsey smiled kindly. "I still can't believe that the dress Kimberley wore at her wedding didn't come from some haute couture designer!"

Her eyes glazed over in wonder for a moment as she remembered that dress. It was more beautiful than words and she still couldn't fathom how this one woman had created it all by herself. The second her friend had told her where she'd gotten her dress she'd immediately contacted Samantha to see if she'd be gracious enough to make her her wedding dress also. Thankfully she'd accepted the commission and just some days later, presented a sketch for her gown that was beyond her wildest dreams.

"You're extremely talented," she couldn't help but say leaving Sam to smile at the compliment. It meant so much to her to have her work appreciated even if she'd once dreamt of it being admired on a much larger scale.

But that was no longer possibility so it was nice that she could still somewhat live out her dream in this small way.

"Thanks so much. I'll have it ready by tomorrow I promise. I just need to put on some finishing touches."

"I'm looking forward to it!" Kelsey exclaimed excitedly before assuring her that she would make sure to spread word around and make it known to everyone who made her dress. Sam thanked her for that because word of mouth recommendations were so key especially when she didn't have the funds to advertise herself.

If she got the right client (even if that didn't happen often as most women went to stores or to legit designers for their wedding dress instead of get one that was handmade by let's face it, a nobody) it would once again help her out with her bills.

As she closed the door and went to work on the dress, deciding to do that now and take Josie to the park later because she was crunched for time and only got Saturday to work on personal projects having to work every other day of the week including Sunday, she prayed to God that someone would see her handiwork at Kelsey's wedding and come looking for her to make another for them.

She just hoped and hoped that there would be a wedding in her future soon.

* * *

To say that she was at a loss for words was a massive understatement.

Clover was sitting in a rather comfortable chair in the lobby of Scam's rather posh office building after she'd successfully taken over some woman's time slot to see him by claiming to be her, another model he had on his meeting schedule for today, a Miss Lucia Bisset that he was going to be interviewing for an ad campaign he was running for another business venture of his.

Luckily for her, his secretary was majorly swamped and hadn't taken the time to confirm that she was actually her, taking her neat appearance and modelling portfolio as obvious signs that she was the mentioned woman and letting her take a seat to wait for when he called for her to be sent in.

Looking around at her surroundings Clover was trying her best to wrap her head around the fact that this, _all of this_, belonged to her former foe. Sure when Sam had told her that he'd given up crime and gone and become a business tycoon she'd expected for him to be living a life of luxury but not to this insane degree. He was legitimately living the life of a king while in the same span of time Sam's life had become what his once used to be: total ruins.

_"Sammie deserves this kind of life!" _Was all she could think of as she imagined her best friend in the center of all of this, by Scam's side. Something she could be if that kiss they'd shared last night hadn't gone _quite_ the way Sam had told her it had.

She glanced at the polished black door with silver inlays that was a couple of feet from her that Scam was hidden behind and grew more impatient. She was just dying to see him and ask him her burning question just as she had been since last night.

"Is he always late?" She found herself asking to his secretary who didn't even look up from the laptop she was speedily typing on as she dismissed her with a practiced: _he's a busy man, he'll be with you shortly_.

Clover did her best not to sigh at that. It was now 2 hours past the time of her appointment and she was anxious.

"So tell me more about your boss," she said to his secretary, deciding this was as good a place as any to snoop.

"He's great at his job," the woman said leaving her to roll her eyes as she thought about what a cheerleader she was for Scam before sitting up straighter and deciding to just get to the juicy information that she craved. "Is he uh ... in a relationship?"

That finally got the woman to look at her. "Why?" She let out a small chuckle and gave her a hard stare. "You interested?"

"Whaaaaat? No, No!" Clover insisted shaking her head but the lady didn't seem offended as she said that if she was then she'd hardly be the first to be. Too busy to converse with her, the woman grabbed a magazine from behind her desk, the latest edition of _**Totally Famous, Totally Luscious **_(1) and handed it to her.

"Page 10 onward, everything you wanna know about his personal life is in here."

_"Scam's featured in Totally Famous, Totally Luscious?!" _Clover screamed inside her head as she took the magazine back to her seat and opened it.

Nostalgia hit her so hard with the scent of those glossy pages that she smiled. Back in the day, Sam, Alex, and her never missed an issue of this magazine because it highlighted only the hottest and richest, most influential men in America.

And when she flipped to page 10 as promised, Tim Scam was gracing the top spot in the countdown.

_"Damn..." _she thought to herself as she eyed the image of him sitting there on a couch, smirking his infamous smirk and looking ultra handsome in an all-black suit in what was apparently his multi-million dollar Bel Air mansion.

_"He really did turn himself into Prince Charming..." _

With wide eyes she read every word written about him and became more and more impressed. But the part that stuck to her more than the many mentions of his wealth and business prowess was the little note about his love life.

It said that he tended to keep women at arm's length because he was far too caught up with work and didn't have any time for romance.

Yet he'd kissed Sam last night ... _why?_

"Miss Bisset?"

"Huh?!" Clover almost jumped when the secretary called the name she was posing as. "You can go in now."

It seemed that her question was finally about to be answered.

Taking in a deep breath she got up, twisted the doorknob engraved with the letters _TS_, and let herself inside.

Just like the exterior, the interior of his private office space was a reflection of him. There were modern, high-end furnishings in a combination of black and gray, statement art pieces, the walls were painted dark with Gothic patterns decorating them, and a glistening, minimalist, 3-tiered chandelier dangled above the large desk he sat at.

Because he hadn't noticed her yet, for a moment she just stood there staring at him. He truly hadn't changed at all and was instantly recognizable as the man she'd once helped arrest countless time.

But there was one difference in his appearance from back then and that was the now dull, red print that could still be seen on his cheek, the site where Sam had left her mark on him and she was hoping that she'd done so on far more than just his face.

"That mark has faded but your memory hasn't, has it?" She declared boldly with her eyes locked on Scam. "You're still thinking about her ... aren't you?"

_"...What the hell?" _Scam thought as he went slack. For a second he asked himself if Darren had come to pester him again but then stopped realized that this voice was female and it was ... familiar.

His ear now twitched as his memory slowly surfaced a name to him. And he was in disbelief at the one it offered because there was no way, just _no way_ he could run into two of those girls in less than 24 hrs.

But when he glanced up he was shocked to see that his mind hadn't been playing tricks on him at all, it was indeed Clover Ewing standing there before him.

"So why exactly did you kiss Sam, Tim Scam?" She asked, cutting to the chase as she closed the door behind her and took a step closer. Her blue eyes zeroed in on his widened sea foam ones and she gave him a look of raw determination.

"I want an answer from you ... and I want it _now_."

* * *

(1) Reference to Season 3, Episode 7: "Planet of the Hunks"

Slightlllllly longer chapter than before. But yea! I finally got to mention **Alex** in here briefly but she'll be showing up more soon and so will some_ other _familiar faces so look out!

Looking forward to hearing what you guys thought about this! About Sam, Alex, Clover, Josie, and ofc Scam!

Clover has tracked him down, what comes next?

Guess we'll see! But it depends on you if you want to find out sooner than later! **Review please?** :)

_Thanks as always!_

_Cres _


	4. Chapter 4

A little later than I wanted to be with this update (curse you moving day!) but here I am with chapter number 4!

Once again thanks **SO MUCH** for the **favs/follows** and **reviews**! They all keep me going and I'm excited to see that this picked up some more since the last chapter was posted! :)

Disclaimer: STILL NOWHERE CLOSER TO MAKING TS MY OWN. x_x LIFE IS NOT FAIR.

* * *

"Well?" Clover prompted when Scam just sat there frozen, staring at her mutely nearly five minutes after she'd asked him her question.

That seemed to get him to move again as he cleared his throat giving her the impression that he was finally going to speak. But then he stalled by picking up the glass of ice water sitting on his desk and taking a long sip of it.

"... Excuse me?" He finally said slowly, almost stupidly once he'd gulped it down like he hadn't heard a single word she'd said to him. That, or he'd suddenly forgotten the definition of every one that she'd used to attempt communication with him.

Sighing heavily Clover repeated herself more slowly this time, pronouncing every word with a pause in between to allow him the seconds he needed to process them properly. "I. Asked. Why. You. Kissed._ Sammie_."

Scam sat up straighter in his leather chair and coolly glanced at the schedule flickering on his laptop screen before his eyes landed back on her again.

"… How did you get in?" He asked quietly, giving her a suspicious look at bypassing his security and secretary so easily. Someone was going to be fired for this; he was supposed to be meeting Lucia Bisset right now. Where was she?!

"Uh … through the door?" Clover replied sarcastically, raising her hand and pointing at it with her thumb. Rolling her eyes and crossing her arms over her chest she waited just one more second for him to cut the crap and get down to business before impatiently muttering. "So? Are you going to tell me or not?"

Blinking back at her, Scam pressed his lips into a thin line as he tried to make sense of both Clover Ewing's bizarre appearance out of nowhere and her even more bizarre behaviour. She'd asked him about his kissing Samantha but she'd said it in such a ... blasé manner.

His blue green eyes narrowed as he just stared at her in complete confusion. If she knew about the kiss, why wasn't she furious with him? Why wasn't she reacting like Sam had after he'd kissed her? Screaming and kicking and wrecking the place up?

It just didn't make any sense to him that she was just standing here calmly_ interviewing _him and not foaming at the mouth at the knowledge of it having happened between him and her Sam.

The Clover he remembered hated him and all criminals (reformed or not) of his like and would legit be coming at him claws bared for daring put his lips _anywhere _near her best friend. So why then was she being like this? Being so ... civil about this discussion?

Were Sam and her no longer close? But if that were so, would she care if he kissed her? She wouldn't right? She also wouldn't know it had happened without Sam telling her so they were definitely as still tight as they'd always been. Then why wasn't she ripping his head off right now? ...Why?

Believing that perhaps answering her question would give him an answer to his own, he sighed, bracing himself for Clover's inevitable explosion before speaking. "It was something I did in the moment," Scam confessed candidly because that was exactly what it had been for him.

When he'd approached Sam to talk last night, he had been drawn to her strictly due to curiosity. He hadn't premeditated kissing her. It had just_ happened_.

"I wasn't really thinking and ... I'm sorry."

He looked down at the papers on his desk immediately after saying that as he waited for hurricane Clover to hit him hard.

But it never did.

Around two minutes later he glanced back up at Clover to read her expression only find her still just looking at him, still totally composed, still not angry in any way. And he was about to ask her what on earth was up with her when she spoke again.

"...You're not giving me the whole story Scam," she accused with her hands on her hips while giving him a look that said that she could see right through him as though he were made of the same crystal glass of the bay windows of his office.

A loud huff left her, her bangs shifting with the air that escaped her curled lips. "I mean, it wasn't like you met Sam for the first time last night, thought she was cute, and decided to make out with her just cuz you were feelin' horny."

Her bold choice of words left Scam's jaw to drop but she was unbothered by his baffled expression as she went on, still badly wanting the answers she'd come for. "No, you knew her for years before and had ample opportunities to kiss her in the past."

It was true. If he had been able to resist Sam all those times _then_, then what had changed _now_? Something clearly had.

"Why last night?" She asked putting him on the spot once more as she looked him dead in the eye and determinedly demanded the truth. "Why _last night_ Scam?"

_"Because she wanted it."_

Those words lingered just at the tip of his tongue but he did not dare say them as he knew they would not be received well by the blonde. But every second of that interaction with the girl in question was still fresh in his mind.

Maybe share a kiss with him, she'd said. It had been so long since she'd been kissed, she'd said. And he knew that Samantha had practically begged for that kiss from him so wait—

Suddenly he was frowning as he came to a sickening realization after reflecting on Clover's uttered words. She seemed to be placing the entire blame of that smoochfest between Sam and himself solely on his shoulders. Which could only mean that Sam had communicated that—

He scowled, eyes flashing red with barely contained rage. Sure he wasn't shocked in the slightest that _that_ was how Sam had chosen to explain their encounter because really, what else had he been expecting from Sam Simpson? To fess up? Confess to Clover that she'd gladly crossed first base and shamelessly almost hit second base with him right there in that crowded restaurant in front of hundreds of spectators?

God no, he wasn't that unrealistic. He knew the redhead well enough to expect pretty much the opposite. But to say that his ego was bruised by her blatantly selfish actions would be a massive understatement.

Leaving him to take the fall for an act they'd both enthusiastically participated in when never had he, nor would he _ever_ be the kind of man to force himself onto a woman who didn't want him. So he certainly had not done that to her last night either.

He wasn't that desperate. He wasn't that pathetic. He was not that much of a loser. And she damn well _knew that_.

"Is that what she told you?" He found himself hissing in a wounded manner as he leaned forward, bunching up his fists and slamming them hard on the top of his desk. "That it was sexual assault?"

Scam growled, his nostrils flaring and his body shaking from the anger he was now feeling in spades at basically being falsely, undeservedly branded as a rapist. "That she was the innocent, little victim that I forced myself on?"

Unbeknownst to him, his vicious backfire to the scenario of him being some lowdown creep gave Clover a glimpse of just the intel she'd wanted from him on that night.

Despite it being years she remembered Tim Scam. And even more than she remembered him, she remembered his temper. It only surfaced to this degree when he was no longer in control of a situation.

So whatever had happened between him and Sam, it seemed more than likely then that he hadn't been the sole instigator of it as Sam had suggested to her.

Yup, Scam's genuinely repulsed reaction to being pegged as that proved as much without question.

And once more her skepticism that Sam had lied to her when she'd described their kiss escalated. She'd freely admitted to spending hours with Scam, she'd openly relayed talking to him, bonding with him during the time she should have been spending with Nathan but the second she'd brought up the kiss, Sam's entire mood had shifted into one of a person who was being dishonest. One that had something to hide.

Sure Sam had been revolted talking about it, but for some reason she felt that while she'd masked it as such, the source of her rage hadn't been the man she'd locked lips with but rather _herself _for going that far, for reaching a distance she hadn't allowed herself to in years with _any_ man in the span of one meeting with _him_, a man she'd hated for so many years.

But of course that was her personal theory. She hadn't been present that night so she only had her own logic to fill in the gaps in the narrative. And that wasn't enough. She had to know what had gone down for sure before she moved forward with her plan. She had to learn Scam's true intentions.

"So how did it happen then?" Clover surprised Scam when she posed that new question to him, still sounding stoic, only curious and nothing more. She didn't even raise her voice as she said it, just asked and then smiled encouragingly as she waited for his response.

Scam bit his cheek and just kept his gaze on her as he asked himself if he should do this. If talking to her was a good idea and if he shouldn't just call for his guard and have her removed from his office and get on with his day like she'd never even come here.

But soon enough her continual calm demeanour while dealing with him lowered his defences and somehow he found himself doing something he never thought he'd ever be doing with Clover; taking the time and having an actual conversation with his former foe telling her a side of the tale, his side of the story that Sam hadn't bothered to provide her regarding their little, nightly escapade.

* * *

Having gathered the fabric glitter, embroidery thread, and lace appliqués she required to complete the finishing touches on Kelsey's bridal gown, Sam set up her work station in the living room as she usually did so that she could keep an eye on Josie while she worked.

She'd only gotten as far as removing the cover from over the dress where it was tacked on a body form when she heard a loud gasp of sheer awe come from her daughter who ran over to her with excitement shining clearly in her big, emerald eyes.

"Oooh! Are you making another pwincess dwess mommy?!"

"Yes honey," Sam said, unable to help but smile at what Josie innocently thought a wedding dress was. Even though it had been her who'd given her that idea to stop her from requesting her to wear one as she always used to.

_"Pwease mommy! Pwease can you wear one! Pwetty pwease? I wanna see you wear one! You would look soooo bweauwiful weawing one!"_

Josie had long noticed that despite making such extravagant dresses she'd never put them on her body, not even for a second and had asked her why, asked her if she didn't like wearing dresses or something.

So to get her off her back she'd told her that according to the law, only special girls got to wear this kind of dress. They were not meant for everyone, only the chosen ones, princesses like the women who commissioned her to make these gowns were allowed.

Curious Josie had then asked her how one became a princess obviously to see if there was any way to turn her into one, a plan she'd sidestepped by simply telling her it was about luck. Luck, lots and lots of luck that she herself hadn't been blessed with.

Those words had finally silenced Josie's desire to see her in one of these gowns but she still loved looking at the dresses she made regardless.

"Can I see? Can I see?!" Josie bounced up and down on her feet, reaching up and tugging on the end of her skirt to get her attention and Sam nodded as she leaned down and picked her up in her arms so that she could see the dress up close.

As she walked her in a slow circle around Kelsey's gown, Josie's eyes widened in awe as she reached out and softly touched the silken fabric with her small hand while taking in all the ruched detailing. Small "oohs" and "aahs" left her mouth while a look of total wonder was stamped on every inch of her baby face.

"Wow! It so bweawiful mommy!" She exclaimed and Sam felt her own lips bursting into a small grin at her praise.

No matter who else told her she was talented at designing and making these dresses, a compliment from her little girl was always the highest praise she could receive. For this reason she always showed Josie her completed dresses before she sent them off to their buyers and her level of excitement was what she used to gauge, to judge if she'd done a good job or not.

"For Kelshey?" Josie asked and Sam nodded as once more Josie's eyes grew large and moony. "That mean she gonna be a pwincess..." she whispered realizing what else this meant.

Kelsey had to have found a real life Prince Charming. She was one of the special ones like her mommy had told her and now she was going to live happily ever after forever and ever just like the princesses in her fairytale books did at the end of their stories.

"Kelshey's vewy lucky!" Sam heard Josie say. "She sure is," she agreed also looking at the pristine garment, helplessly thinking of how badly she'd once wanted to wear it and of course how foolishly she'd been tricked into thinking that the time had come for her when she'd mistakenly believed she'd found her own prince.

She'd been just 19 going on 20 then, in her second year of college. Oh how cringfully wishful and painfully _stupid _she'd been.

"Okie go play now," Sam changed the subject immediately, desperate not to go _there_ as she walked Josie over to the single-seat couch and gently placed her on it before locating and handing her some of her favourite toys along with a leftover swatch of the dress fabric she'd been so tenderly touching with her tiny fingers.

A happy squeal left Josie and Sam smiled watching her kid drape the supple cloth over her Cinderella doll's head like a veil, transforming her into a bride so that she could re-enact her own perfect wedding with her; a game Josie liked to play a lot.

"Mommy has got to get this dress done today, kay?" Sam told her, hoping that the bit of the gown she'd given her would be incentive enough for her to be a good little girl and not distract her as she worked even if Josie rarely ever got in her way anyway. She was always such a good and well-behaved kid.

She then smiled sweetening the deal even more for her. "And then when she's done, she'll take you to the park just like she promised and who knows? Maybe she'll even buy you some ice creaaaaam!"

"Yay!" Josie screamed in joy, promising to keep really quiet so that her mommy could focus.

Sam ruffled her hair affectionately and kissed her forehead for a second before leaving her to play.

Finding the TV remote where she'd left it on the coffee table she turned it on and flipped straight to channel 30. Happy to see that she hadn't missed her favourite show Sam smiled as the outro song of "From Rags to Runways" ended and the familiar intro track to "Project Runway" came on. In a good mood she hummed along to it while making her way back to the waiting dress.

She always loved watching as much as she could of the one hour program because it featured those who were making strides in the fashion world. She loved to meet them, the people that were revolutionizing fashion at its core. She'd tape the show sometimes when she wasn't able to watch it, never wanting to miss hearing about the ones who had succeeded in making careers with their passion for fashion as she'd once dreamt of doing.

She could hardly wait to see who the guest of honour was today. Something told her it was going to be a good one.

"Good afternoon everyone and welcome to Project Runway!" The host, Laurel Hampton enthusiastically announced as she emerged from behind the fuchsia curtains that led backstage in a sparkling teal gown and the big, statement jewelry she usually wore.

"We've got a big show for you today that you're not gonna want to miss!" She winked into the camera and grinned as she clapped her hands together, her chunky bracelets making jangling sounds as she did so.

"We'll be taking a close look at some of the hottest trends that are in right now and how to incorporate them into our daily wardrobe to make our outfits really pop! But first, just like always, we'll be opening with our amazing, mystery guest!"

Sam's eyes darted up from her stitch work as waited to hear their name.

"Today we bring to you a woman that has transformed the very concept of fashion itself by developing a specialty brand of fabric that's both long-lasting in use and friendly on the environment. Her work as a textile chemist has been immense and the eco-chic cloth she's brilliantly manufactured is highly coveted. It's what's being used by the topmost fashion houses today! She's taken the fashion world by storm and we are so excited to present her before you today!"

_"A textile chemist?"_ Sam thought as she re-threaded her needle with a delicate, glossy, decorative, silver thread and began to sew another rose flower, unable to help but be impressed by her profession. Whoever she was, she had to be smart to have created an actual fabric all by herself. A lot of science went into that sort of thing. She could hardly wait to see her.

Please welcome the one, the only ... Miss **Alexandra Hernandez**!"

Sam's breath caught in her throat with a sharp hitch, the needle in her hand pricking her thumb and making a droplet of blood ooze from it as she recognized that name.

_"Alex..." _She thought, eyes going wide. But Hernandez? Alex's last name had been Vasquez unless she'd officially taken on the name of her step dad Walter Hernandez, something she'd refused to do before, always being super close to her biological father. (1)

_"Could it be?" _Sam thought, almost afraid to look across the room at the screen as sounds of clapping could be heard from the TV audience welcoming this Alexandra to the show. Just like Clover and herself, Alex too had always wanted a profession in fashion. This Alexandra could very well be _her_.

She gulped hard, frozen in place. The last time she'd seen Alex had been when they'd fought five years ago in the dorm she used to share with her and Clover at Malibu University.

And the final memory she had of that terrible night was of herself stubbornly ignoring Alex as she moved around messily tossing her belongings into a suitcase while crying, shaking from hurt, and looking at her in disbelief and total heartbreak...

_A sniffle left Alex's nose and she frowned, raising a hand and harshly wiping away her tears. Why was she crying? For whom? Sam? A girl she clearly didn't mean a thing to seeing how she'd treated her like some idiot, like someone who didn't know what they were talking about when all she had been doing was being a true friend, telling her the truth that she needed to hear, and begging her to please open her eyes, please take the blinders off before it was too late and she wound up hurt? _

_Tossing away a denim skirt she'd once borrowed from the redhead, Alex felt a fresh round of sobs escape her as she thought about the girl who was standing right there watching her go but doing nothing to stop her. The girl that was once a sister to her but now? Not even a friend. _

_All because of __**him**__. _

_Disgusted she stared at Sam's turned back while asking herself how? How could Sam choose him over their friendship of so many years? Didn't she remember that they were best friends? That she only had her best interests at heart unlike the boyfriend she was so crazy over? The one who had changed her so much, so soon that she was almost unrecognizable? _

_Obviously she didn't and after this much humiliation, after being called jealous, spiteful, and hateful among other things she wasn't about to stick around anymore. She needed to go now. _

_Zipping up her bag she stood up from the bed. Whatever happened to Sam after this point would be on her and her alone, she'd have no part in it. From this second on Sam was free to make her own mistakes as she was so happy making._

_"I'm leaving!" Alex screamed now all packed, tears still falling as she wheeled her suitcase to the door while holding up a hand to halt Clover from trying to stop her because nothing she could say or do was going to fix this now. _

_It was over. She was done._

_"I'm leaving and I'm never coming back!" She shouted taking just one second to look over her shoulder at the girl who still had the power to stop her from going but wasn't using it, at Sam who still wasn't making any effort to tell her to stay whatsoever. _

_When another moment passed and Sam didn't even look her way, hurt and broken Alex screamed again. "Consider our friendship over Sam!" _

_With that the door slammed shut loudly muting Sam's own callous scream in reply; four words that would haunt her for years afterwards. _

_"Yea? Well good riddance!" _

Shuddering from guilt and regret, never having forgotten just how she'd lost Alex and how it had all been her own fault, Sam slowly, hesitantly forced herself to look at the TV.

And the moment she did, the second she glanced at the amber-eyed, caramel skinned woman with midnight hair set in an asymmetrical, curly bob she was able to confirm that it was indeed her.

There she was right before her eyes, Alex, _her _Alex on the other side of the screen sitting in the guest speaker's red sofa seat in a silver dress, smiling and looking as beautiful as she'd always been as she waved out into the crowd to say hello.

Overcome with so much emotion, Sam could not stop her tears as they burst from her eyes while cherished memories hit her hard and soon she was shaking from the force of them. And soon her sobs of misery became so loud that they could be heard from over the sounds of the program.

"Mommy? What happen mommy?!" Sam heard Josie call out to her and when she looked over, her daughter was staring at her from over the couch's armrest, looking terrified at the sight of her crying like this, crying in a way she never had before in front of her.

Knowing she was scaring the little one, Sam hastily wiped away her tears and fought to regain her composure. But she hadn't even managed to do that when Josie, already being bright at her small age figured out that her sudden and severe bout of sorrow had something to do with the woman on television. A woman she'd never seen before.

"Mommy? Who that lady?" Josie asked and when Sam looked at her again she found her pointing directly at Alex with her chubby finger.

It took Sam a moment to figure out what to say but then she smiled through her tears and quietly informed her little girl of just who she was finally getting to meet even if wasn't in person as she'd hoped.

"Sweetheart that's ... that's your _Auntie Alex_."

* * *

Now sitting in the comfy black chair across from Scam's desk where he'd surprisingly asked her to please sit down in quite a gentlemanly manner, Clover nodded along in silence as he neared the end of his account of last night.

"She was telling me about her life, just how she was feeling disheartened and bummed out after so many failed dates," Scam sighed, his hands were laced together on the top of his desk and his eyes were narrowed in deep thought, a pensive look on his handsome face as though he was trying really hard to remember every word that had been said in that exchange between Sam and himself so that he could share them without forgetting anything.

"Then when I asked her if she was still looking for a romance..." he paused to hold up his finger, his voice getting defensive. "Which I only did because I ran into her whilst she was on a date."

When Clover gave him a little nod of approval to agree that he hadn't been out of line for suggesting that he went on. "She responded by saying that she wasn't and all she truly wanted was to have a pleasant evening with some guy and maybe—"

He paused, trying and then promptly failing to imagine how Clover would take this next rather scandalous part inside his head for a minute before proceeding.

"And maybe … share a kiss with him."

Instantly Clover almost choked on her own saliva and sat up bolt upright with wide, shocked eyes. "Oh my God..." She breathed heavily with her mouth open wide and her eyes pinned on him. "She actually said that?!"

"Yea," He shrugged as if to say he wasn't making this up or something before saying more. "She told me that it had been ages since she'd last been kissed, that she couldn't even remember her last kiss and I don't know. While I was listening to her vent something just came over me and I just, I ... for some reason, I—"

"You kissed her," Clover easily finished the sentence he'd been bumbling out for him.

Scam nodded because there was no point in denying his own part in what had unfolded before he finished his summary of events with the pivotal information that Sam had intentionally omitted.

"... And she kissed me back."

The second he said that he watched Clover's face become the definition of doubt. An eyebrow shot up, her lips pursed and she fidgeted in her place as if mentally struggling with this declaration of his.

The last time Sam had kissed a guy had been … before Josie's birth so this was a bombshell to say the least. But was it true?

"… You don't believe me do you?" Clover heard Scam mumble eventually, sounding frustrated. And she realized she hadn't needed to open her mouth and say it for him to get that she didn't. She was sure that the screwed up look on her features was what had tipped him off that she was having trouble buying this.

Saying nothing more Scam decided to just show her. Thanks to Darren he had the security footage of him and Sam at that restaurant ready to go. Clover would not be able to refute that it had happened if she saw it with her own two eyes.

Loading it and fast forwarding to the point where Sam's date exited the picture and he and she started to converse, he slid the laptop across the polished table towards Clover to let her see the proof that backed up his words.

Holding her breath Clover watched as Sam could be seen sitting there in the same red dress she'd worn that night out talking to Scam who was seated just beside her at her table. The white numbers of the timestamp on the upper, left side of the screen confirmed just how long she'd spoken with him; an hour and forty-five minutes at the very least.

Her blue eyes widened when she noticed something else while carefully assessing the video feed. Sam's _body language_… it said a lot. She seemed at total ease with Scam, not at all like a woman who was in any way annoyed by the man before her or wanted him to go away.

In fact she looked no different than any of the women around her who were actually spending time with their significant others. Just like them she too hovered close to Scam, smiled at him often, and she couldn't help but notice that she spent an _awful _lot of time gazing into his eyes.

Yup, there was no other way to interpret what she was seeing other than Sam clearly enjoying Scam's company. And if she were honest? The level of comfort Sam had with him, it looked as though it had been Tim Scam she'd been set up to meet that night all along and never any Nathan Carson.

And Clover almost gasped at what she noticed next, how seamlessly Sam's manner shifted from that of a woman who was just making idle chitchat, to one who was almost flirting without words.

Her face moving closer to the screen to make sure she wasn't seeing things, she soon decided that there was no denying it. Sam _was_ flirting with Scam.

She had practically majored in social interaction with the male gender, having had countless boyfriends throughout her life and the Sam on tape was displaying all the physical cues of attraction. She was doing all the things that a woman did subconsciously when she was attracted to someone and wanted them to know that she was.

Flaunting her shoulders, perching slightly bent forward to emphasize her bust, licking her lips every now and then, playing with the rim of her glass absentmindedly with her fingers, and she could _swear _she'd counted at least ten separate instances where Sam had glanced directly at Scam's lips.

And if all that been shocking to her, what came next left her absolutely shook.

_The kiss. _

_"Damn..."_ Clover thought turning red from head to toe and almost reaching for the ice water on Scam's desk to cool herself off.

Her mouth fell all the way open as she watched the hot replay of it. To say that it was a steamy one would be putting it mildly especially after Sam joined in. Scam hadn't lied when he'd said that she'd kissed him back but Sam wasn't just kissing ... she was literally _all over _him.

Her eyes peeled, Clover witnessed Sam grappling at Scam's broad shoulders and dragging him closer towards her while her eyes were sealed tight and her lips moved viciously against his over and over as if she couldn't get enough of him.

Soon she was practically in his lap and even with their being no audio she could imagine the moans of satisfaction that must have left her mouth solely based on how contented she looked while doing this with him. And she started to wonder, what if they hadn't had an audience watching? How much further would Sam have gone with Scam in the heat of the moment?

Would she have taken him to her bed? She seemed eager enough. An inappropriate thought to have for sure especially knowing the redhead as well as she did, but what Sam was doing on the monitor could hardly be described as appropriate anyway.

When the make out session finally ended after several passionate moments, Clover saw how dazed Sam appeared as she needlessly stayed in the circle of Scam's embrace and just stared at him, eyes dark with arousal, mouth parted in hunger, taking rampant breaths in obvious anticipation for something more to happen between them.

But then she raised her hand and slapped him effectively ruining the moment as she stood up, her face twisted in hate and now a total contradiction of how it had been just seconds before. She seemed to take some time to yell profanities at him then, while he sat there too shocked to defend himself against her insults before she kicked in her chair and stomped off leaving behind a very dazed and lost-looking Tim Scam in her wake.

The show now over Clover was speechless for a long minute at the truth now being out in the open. She had been right all along, Sam had lied to her. She hadn't slapped him for kissing her like a reflex as she'd claimed. No, she'd thoroughly engaged in the kiss, relished it, enjoyed every millisecond of it and _then _slapped Scam.

At no point during their lip lock had Sam looked uncomfortable, tried to push Scam away from her, or said no. The anger, the rage, the _regret_ only came after the kiss not before or during it.

And that was something that could not simply be ignored as Sam had attempted to by hiding it from her. Suddenly how guilty she'd appeared last night when she'd asked her for details about the kiss made total and perfect sense.

Taking Clover's state of total silence as him having effectively made his point, Scam reached over and retrieved his computer before calmly closing it. He then gave her a smirk full of confidence and sent an idle shrug her way.

"So if you came all the way down here to reprimand me for forcing myself on your best friend ... I believe you just wasted your time."

Thinking this matter to be dealt with he moved to pick up his phone to inquire what the hell had happened to Lucia Bisset and get on with his life only to pause when he heard the blonde say something again.

"Oh... I didn't come here to reprimand you Tim." She confessed, smiling once more but this time almost _slyly_.

And with every passing second her smile only grew on her lips. "Tim. Can I call you Tim by the way?"

_"What the hell?" _Scam thought, his face coiled up as Clover once more perplexed him with her overt friendliness towards him. Despite having this now hour-long meeting with her, he still wasn't any closer to figuring her out than he had been when she'd first stormed inside his office.

Tired and wanting answers from her for his questions before he gave her any more answers to her own, he decided to just ask her. To put her in the hot seat this time.

Scam looked her in the eye, giving her a serious stare with a small frown on his lips as he asked her what he had to in a firm, no-nonsense tone.

"... Then why _did _you come here?"

* * *

(1) I didn't really care for Season 6 because of severe OOCness and plot holes but in Episode 13: "Evil Ice Skater" they showed a different dad for Alex than the one seen in Season 5, Episode 4: "Alex Gets Schooled". So I figured one of them was her stepfather and I decided to roll with it.

Why Alex made the change will be revealed later. :)

Anyway! Excited to hear what you guys thought about this! Especially about the flashback featuring Alex and Sam! Some major drama there!

And why did Clover come to see Scam? Any theories?

More to come! **Review please if possible?** :D

_Thanks always!_

_Cres _


	5. Chapter 5

Waaaaayy later than I wanted to be with this update (which is why this is a little longer as a smol consolation) but I promise the next one will be _much faster_! Not gonna let myself slack on this story like I have with others in the past! x_x

Thanks **SO MUCH** for **reviews **again everyone who took the time to leave one! They always mean a lot to me. :)

Disclaimer: TS STILL IS _NOT _PROPERTY OF CRESENTA'S LARK AND IT'S A DAMN SHAME!

* * *

"Well?" Scam pushed her for an answer just as she had him not so long ago. But unlike how he'd required some moments to digest her question and figure out just how to answer it, Clover replied to his almost straight away.

"I came here ... to give you _this_." Reaching over she picked up a silver pen laying on his desktop before plucking one of the business cards neatly stashed in a dark gray, leather holder.

She studied it for a moment, turning it around in her fingers searching for some blank space before setting it backwards on the table and scribbling something on it where there was enough room to write. When she was done she slid it towards him and waited patiently.

Although Scam didn't move another muscle he did slowly glance down at the glossy cardstock. His curiosity piqued higher and his eyebrows rose at what he found now written on it.

There were two phone numbers Clover had provided him along with an address. And there was one thing that all three had in common … he'd didn't recognize any of them. Scam was still trying to figure out why that was when Clover spoke again.

"The first phone number is Sam's home phone number, the second is Sam's cell number, and that address ... that's where she lives."

Scam's face contorted when he heard those words and he could only look at the blonde in wonder as just one question kept coming at him on repeat. What was she up to? Why on earth would Clover give him of all people all this confidential information on Sam? She was practically—

No, not practically. She was _definitely_ leading him right to her. She had to know she was but he couldn't figure out why. He highly doubted Sam had asked her to do this. So what was her angle?

"... What for?" He questioned in concise and direct words moments later, picking up the card to ensure she knew exactly what he was talking about.

"Isn't it obvious?" Clover responded, blue eyes twinkling with what could only be called mischief as she playfully twirled the sleek pen she was still holding between her fingertips, letting it glide among her painted fingernails while staring at his face and wiggling her eyebrows suggestively as she waited for him to get a clue.

When he just stared back at her blankly showing no understanding whatsoever, she filled in the blank for him. "So you can see her again! Duh!"

Her words left him stunned and the card clipped from his hand falling on the surface of his desk with a soft pat.

"... What?" Scam whispered out slowly, still trying to wrap his head around this. Why would she want him to see Sam again? Wait ... Clover couldn't possibly be suggesting that he pursue Sam ..._ right?_

But the more she said, the more it became clear that that was exactly where she was going with this.

"What?" Clover asked back as she placed her elbows on the table and leaned closer, tilting her head and vigilantly studying every inch of his startled face as she rapid fired questions at him. "Don't you _want_ to see her again? Wouldn't you like to experience _more_ than a kiss with her?"

At this his eyes went so wide that they almost ejected from of his sockets and Clover had to bite her cheek not to burst out laughing because never in all her time of knowing Tim Scam had she seen the guy look this flustered.

It only fueled her to keep going because she was clearly touching some nerves to draw such a reaction, _any_ reaction from the famously stoic-faced baddie who was supposed to be unphased by pretty much everything.

"Oh come on Timmm; you can say it!" She teased winking before declaring boldly. "I already **know **that you do."

"... Where would you get a _ridiculous_ idea like that?" Scam tried arguing only to have Clover smirk at him so menacingly that it almost reminded him of his own classic smirk.

Subconsciously he pulled himself back in his chair almost a little daunted but Clover countered that by pushing herself closer till her nose was almost touching his, refusing to back down regardless of how uncomfortable she was making him.

Because she was on a mission and she wasn't going to leave him alone until she completed it. Sam and Josie's futures depended on it and she was _not_ going to let them down.

"Uh ... the footage you showed me?" She jogged Scam's memory leaving his face to grow sheepish as he belatedly realized his mistake in showing it to her.

Because by doing so not only had he proven Sam's eager participation in their intense make out session ... but also his own. Especially the fact that he'd been the one to initiate it; something he couldn't just talk his way out of thanks to that incriminating video Clover was referring to.

Watching Scam close his mouth and lower his gaze, Clover shuffled around in her purse and quickly drew out the bachelor magazine his secretary had given her. Flipping to the page she had earmarked about him she read aloud with a grin tugging on her lips.

"When asked about his love life, Mr. Scam admits that he tends to keep women at arm's length because he's far too caught up in business and feels he just doesn't have the time for romance."

Putting the index on her lap Clover put her eyes on Scam's face again and grinned wider. "Sooo judging by your own admission ... you must _really_ be into Sammie seeing you spontaneously kissed her and all."

When she found him looking even more flabbergasted, Clover pressed on wanting to get him to confess that she was right here and he was interested in Sam _that way_ so she could continue with her plan in which he was a key player to say the least.

"... Or was it not so spontaneous?" She continued pushing his buttons while she watched him staring stubbornly at a random file sitting on his desk to pretend her words were not affecting him.

Sadly for him though the twitching of his jaw, how he was faintly squirming in his seat, and the redness starting to creep up on his cheeks and across his square jaw line was easily giving him away. The colour was next to impossible to go unnoticed on his coppery, tanned skin.

"Have you always had a thing for her? Because if I'm totally honest ... I believe you always _have_."

He still refused to meet eyes with her but the color staining his face swiftly brightened at her accusation and she realized that Scam, TIM FREAKING SCAM was actually _blushing_.

"Oh my God!" Clover exclaimed pointing right at him and giggling in disbelief at what was happening. "You're totallllllly blushing right now! Oh my God! YOU DO like her!"

Clapping her hands together in glee she started to plot right then and there how to set this whole thing in motion. She'd already given him her contact info. All Scam had to do was—

"... I never said I liked her."

Scam's gruff tone brought her out of her private thoughts and she groaned realizing that this wasn't going to be quite as easy as she'd begun to think it would be.

Putting aside her mental planning of Sam's extravagant wedding where Josie would be the cutest little flower girl walking down the isle looking every bit like the little angel she was, Clover looked at Scam and frowned when she saw his face.

He didn't look very happy and she wondered if he was going to waste precious time (seriously, she wanted Josie to have a dad while she still required one) denying his blatantly obvious feelings for her best friend.

Scam did have a reputation of being bullheaded after all, so she'd hardly be surprised if he really was going to do just that.

"But you don't need to say it though..." Clover retorted hoping to make this nothing more than a quick detour in their much more important discussion of how Sam and him were going to hook up. "Your actions speak for you."

"And so do hers," Scam insisted not missing a beat as he crossed his arms over his chest and shot Clover an annoyed look at what she was either forgetting or for some unseen reason, choosing to ignore. "Need I remind you that she _loved_—_," _He paused there to huff sarcastically while his eyes grew stormy with rage and his eyebrows furrowed in discontent.

"—My kissing her so much that she slapped me across the face for it?"

_"So that's his problem,"_ Clover thought rolling her eyes even though she should have expected as much. Scam had a massive ego and that thunderous slap had to have bruised it at least a little. No pun intended.

"Yea but ... she kissed you back didn't she?" She shrugged. "Doesn't that say everything? Doesn't that show that this is worth pursing?"

Sadly Scam didn't agree with her as he shook his head sternly in her direction and frowned. "It's not," he decided. "It was just a kiss. It means..." He trailed off with a long sigh before frowning harder and finishing. "It means _nothing_."

Yet the more desperately he tried to fend Clover off, the more determined she became to get through to him and make him see things the way she was seeing them.

"Uh huh ... and so does the majorrrrrr crush she once had on you? Does that mean nothing too?"

That statement caught Scam completely off guard and his body language showed that transparently as she witnessed him go absolutely slack. His shoulders locked up and his jaw dropped open. But his eyes, they did most of the talking with how they tripled in size with surprise.

And Clover couldn't help but smile as she realized something right then and there. After all these years, after all this time ... Scam hadn't forgotten that Sam had once had feelings for him.

Finally and at long last she'd located a man on this planet filled with millions who hadn't forgotten her even when he'd had every opportunity to do so.

And she wasn't going to allow him to slip away from Sam again. Not _this time_.

"It's not just about that one kiss that you two shared Tim..." Clover whispered quietly and earnestly while wishing he'd hear her out as she needed him to. "It's always been there between you two right from the first time you met."

After everything that Sam had been through she knew without question that she would never just kiss a guy. No, there were feelings at play here and she was willing to bet that that crush of years past had something to do with it.

Her eyes narrowed in suspicion she continued analyzing this meticulously. Even if Sam didn't realize it, hadn't consciously kissed him because of it, it still had to be somewhere in the back of her mind in the same locked box with all her memories of her prior spy life which he was a part of. She couldn't have forgotten completely just how much she'd liked this guy once before she learned he was a criminal.

Sure she'd had to get over him once the truth came out but now there was no need for her to do that anymore. He was no longer a bad guy! This was a clean slate for them, a second chance that was so perfect that it almost seemed scripted. As though he was always meant to be the male protagonist in the romance novel of Sam's life.

What were even the odds of her running into him that night while she'd been on that date that she'd had to beg and plead her to go on because Sam had that entirely given up on ever finding any man she could ever fall for again?

No she wasn't going to be convinced that this, _all of this_ hadn't happened for a reason. Because things like this didn't just happen. This was fate and sooner or later both Scam and Sam were going to have to accept it.

She noticed how he was quiet but his face was reflective and she could tell that he was thinking deeply, trying to make up his mind about whether she was right about this or wrong. Deciding to help him, she spoke again.

"And if that kiss is any indication... then it's still there." She mumbled, dragging them back to it again. She knew he couldn't see it because he didn't have all the information yet. But she could. She knew just how huge it was. So damn huge that it couldn't even be described!

"I mean, talk about chemistry..." She quipped, raising a hand and fanning herself at the hot memory of their sizzling kiss. "Ooh la la!"

Scam started blushing again despite fighting with everything he had in himself not to. Shaking his head to himself as he took deep breaths, he just couldn't fathom that these words were leaving Clover Ewing's mouth. She was literally playing matchmaker.

"Samantha Scam has an awfully nice ring to it, don't you think?" He heard her mention in a singsong tone next while she chuckled. "Just imagine that. Sammie being Mrs. Tim Scam."

"... So you're telling me to propose to Sam?" Scam asked, finally breaking his long silence while giving her a look that screamed that she was nuts for even going there. After one hijacked date and one kiss, she really thought Sam would say yes to becoming his bride?

"Hey, I'mmmm not telling you to do **anythinnnnnnng**." Clover held up her hands to defend herself to him. "Did I tell you to kiss Sam last night? Nooo! You did that on your own." She wagged a finger in a chastising way to say that this was all on him.

"All I'm doing is merely suggesting that you do what you did last night. Take some initiative you know? Just follow your heart, your instincts and see where they take you. To _whom _they lead you to," she stated more openly watching him all the while.

Scam averted her eyes and once again Clover could tell that although he had understood what she was asking him for, he still wasn't quite certain if he should go down that path yet. He was still annoyingly hesitating, something she really needed him stop doing already.

Realizing that he needed one more little, friendly push before she went on her way, Clover emerged from her chair and walked around to perch herself on the edge of his desk. When he still wouldn't give her his attention she drew a gasp from his lips when she, with zero hesitation, poked him in the shoulder.

"Are ya really gonna let a little slap scare you way?" She mocked while tsking under her breath in a dramatically disappointed manner as if having expected so much better. "You _are_ Tim Scam right? Or am I looking at some impostor?"

"All right get up!" Scam hissed, snapping his fingers for her to evacuate his office because he'd had enough.

But Clover only giggled at the sour look on his face, failing to be intimidated by it as she took her sweet time picking up her purse and tucking in the chair she'd been sitting in before she sauntered over to the door.

But right before she stepped out she whispered two words but made sure they were loud enough for Scam to still hear them:

"... **Samantha Scam**."

With that she turned and left, leaving Scam alone with his thoughts. She just hoped that those would be fully occupied by a certain redhead and nothing else.

* * *

Sam smiled to herself as she sat on the bench watching her daughter giggling as she ran around in the grass while kicking her favourite blue, metallic, glitter ball around. And the look of pure joy radiating on her cute face made the aching in her arms after pushing her on the swing for a half hour more than worth it.

Pulling her light jacket closer around herself Sam slumped over a little as she finally relaxed. Coming here had been a good idea or a nice distraction at the very least. From the second she'd told Josie that Alex was her auntie just like Clover, she'd been bombarded with dozens of questions.

_Mommy? Why I never met her before mommy?_

_Where she live? Can we go see her?!_

_What you mean she doesn't like you anymore? Why she no like you mommy? Mommy why are you cwying?_

They'd all become just a little too much for her especially when she herself was still trying to process that she'd just seen Alex after five long years. So looking for a getaway, she'd put her sewing aside till tonight and decided to visit the local park instead and keep her word to her little girl.

And while she knew full well that she wouldn't be able to avoid Josie's curiosity forever, at least for now, just for a little bit, she could have some much needed peace while she tried to find the right words to explain her complicated relationship with Alex to Josie.

Making herself comfy, she planned to stay at the park for at least another hour before she got Josie her favourite ice cream (a strawberry shortcake cone) from the truck parked down the block and finally went home to finish Kelsey's dress in time for tomorrow morning.

Once she delivered it, if God was on her side then another order or two would come and maybe just _maybe_ next month she'd have money for something more than just rent, food and bills.

Who knew? She thought smiling wider and feeling hopeful. Maybe she could even get Josie a worthy gift for her upcoming birthday for once instead of just crafting an outfit for her out of spare scraps from her dress projects.

Sure Josie always loved whatever she scraped together and proudly wore them everywhere letting everyone know that her mommy had made them for her with her own hands … but she couldn't help but feel that she wasn't doing enough for her.

When she was her age her parents made such a fuss about her birthday. They'd spent months buying her an ocean of presents before the big day, and when it finally came they'd invite the neighbourhood, give out party favours and always order two cakes. One for her party at their mansion and a second for her classmates to have at school. Meanwhile Josie? She had never even had a proper birthday party or even a puddle of gifts.

Forget partying or presents, she didn't even have what most kids her age did by default...

_A dad._

Her eyes glazing over, Sam bit her cheek to keep her composure but she couldn't deny what she felt in that moment. Guilt. Sheer guilt chewing at her insides like hundreds of crocodile teeth for not being a good mother. For not even providing her baby with something so essential and obvious. A father.

It was all her fault and because of her mistakes, her child was suffering while pretending not to. And that? That broke her heart most of all.

More than her own broken dreams, more than her shattered heart, she just so badly wanted to make Josie truly happy. If she could somehow do that, then maybe one day she wouldn't feel like such a total failure.

**"HEY! LET GO! THAT MINE!" **

Hearing Josie's angry scream, Sam snapped out of her dejected thoughts and looked up to find her daughter glaring while trying with all her might to free her ball from the grasp of another little girl with raven black hair and bright purple eyes who had a death grip on it.

_"Oh no..."_ Sam's heart sank like a stone as she recognized her immediately thanks to her being such a splitting image of her mother and a groan left her mouth. _"Please God no, not her. Anyone but her!" _Sam pleaded. This was the last thing she needed to deal with right now.

But of course just like always her luck was rotten and soon enough a taller, grown woman with matching black hair and violet eyes appeared behind the kid.

"Money darlingggg, just let her have it." A familiar nasally laugh that made both Sam and Josie's hair stand on end came next as the woman snorted loudly like a pig. "That's probablyyyy the only toy she even owns! Hahahahahahaha!"

_"Mandy!"_ Sam hissed in her thoughts, growling as she rose from the bench and went over before this situation got out of control like it usually tended to whenever she showed up.

While she made her way to her she couldn't help but notice how decked up Mandy was. She was a picture of wealth and affluence, her polar opposite as she stood there wearing an expensive fur coat on her body, glittering gold accessories, with a designer label handbag on her shoulder and in her hand, the diamond-studded leash of a shaggy, rather pompous looking Löwchen puppy who barked unwelcomingly when she stopped in front of it.

Mandy herself sneered while giving her a once-over and for some reason Sam felt totally exposed. As though she could tell that the patchwork flower near the collar of her coat was something she'd added there to hide a tear, that blue and white scarf she wore around her neck came from a flea market sale, that her sandals had scuff marks on them, and most of all , that inside the pocket of her worn-out jeans, her ratty wallet had only had $3.50 to buy the ice cream she'd promised her daughter and not a penny more.

"Ah, Samanthaaaaaa. Good to see you looking ... _as usual_," Mandy finally remarked and Sam didn't have to make much effort to catch the insult tucked away inside that snide comment.

She bit her cheek hard not to react, not to give her the rise she was trying to get out of her. It seemed it wasn't enough for Mandy Luxe that she had married rich, had a successful fashion house that made couture wedding gowns, was living _her_ dream life. No, she still had to mock and belittle her just for kicks.

"What are you doing here?!" Sam snapped, Mandy didn't even live in this neighbourhood! This region of Los Angeles was far too poor and tacky for her. So why had she left her $15 million dollar, Malibu mansion in The Colony to descend all the way down here? The gated community she resided in had more than enough lush, private parkettes where she could take her daughter for a play day. She had to have a reason for coming here specifically.

"Oh you know..." Mandy shrugged as she flipped her straight hair over her shoulder and adjusted her purse, not so subtly flashing the telltale, gold, interlocking Gucci "Gs" on its latch in her face as she did so.

"Money wanted to see how _the peasants _live. And as her doting mother," she said as she touched a hand to her heart with feigned sincerity. "How can I deny her? After all whatever Money wants, Money _gets_. "

"Mummy wouldn't have it any other way!" Money added in before letting go of Josie's ball and leaving her to stumble back as she fell from the sudden action. When Josie landed with a small squeal, Money stuck her tongue out at her before marching over to her mom and standing next to her while smirking evilly.

Sam shot a hot glare at the ill-mannered brat and Mandy before rushing over and helping Josie to her feet.

"Are you okay?" Sam asked Josie as she dusted her off and checked her for any scratches or scrapes while hoping Mandy would get bored while she did that and just walk off.

Unfortunately for her, she had no such plans.

"It's sooo nice to be able to give Money whatever she asks for. See that's what it's like when you're a capable mom. Not that you'd know anything about that ... now would you _Sam_?"

Sam kept her head down and stared hard at the grass and mud, not replying to her jabs. But even though Josie was still a kid, she knew well enough that her mommy was being attacked here and she didn't like it. Didn't like it one bit.

"Hey! Don't talk to my mommy that way!" She shouted, balling up her small fists and looking ready to go to war.

But Sam reached down and gently pat her head to get her to look at her. And when she did she shook her head no, and gave her that look she always did when she wanted her to please keep quiet.

And Josie just didn't get why. This wasn't the first time she'd see her react this way. She always did this when this lady came around. Why didn't she just tell her to leave her alone? Stand up for herself the way she'd taught her to be brave and always stand up to bullies? Why did she always take her meanness and rudeness in silence? Why?

Why? Why? **Why?**

Feeling the weight of Josie's gaze on her, Sam knew she wanted even more answers from her about her past that she was unwilling to give.

And if she stuck around, she knew that Mandy would only be all too happy to dig it all up and rip open her wounds that still pained her each and every day.

"Have a good evening Mandy. It was nice to run into you," Sam said with dignity before scooping Josie up in her arms and carrying her away.

But as fast as she moved, she couldn't outrun another round of Mandy's biting laughter and the echo of the word she called her following her like her own shadow as she left the park.

**"LOSER!"**

Things were never going to change for her wouldn't they? Sam thought to herself miserably as the fleeting optimism she'd felt earlier faded away into dark oblivion.

No matter what she did, no matter how hard she tried...

She'd never escape her past.

* * *

"Sooo ... how was the park?" Clover asked as soon as she entered Sam's home that night. Neither Sam nor Josie answered her right away and for some reason both mom and daughter looked visibly irked at the mention of the park. It was almost as though she could actually feel their bad moods right now bogging down the atmosphere of the entire flat.

Sam stood there stiffly behind her dress mannequin needle in hand and Josie sat cross-legged and cross-armed on the couch, huffing and muttering to herself.

Although she trusted her mommy with all her heart and soul she wasn't sure she was right about how this princess-making process worked. Princesses were supposed to be kind and nice like her mommy not mean and nasty like that lady who honestly seemed more like a witch or evil step-mother.

How come she was allowed to be a princess, have herself a Prince Charming, and a happily ever after but her mommy wasn't? It wasn't fair!

"Josie? Everything okay sweetie?" Hearing her beloved auntie's voice, Josie looked up from her lap, pouted, and shook her head to silently tell her that no, nothing was okay.

"What's wrong?" Clover asked in concern as she went over to her and started stroking her hair to soothe her to make her feel better about whatever had upset her so much.

"We ran into Mandy at the park," Sam answered for Josie.

"Oh no…" Clover groaned now understanding why they looked so glum and proceeding to ask them both if they were okay. "Was she as horrible as always?"

"Yea! She was tewibble!" Josie finally said, growling like an angry kitten as she recalled the encounter that still had her all riled up. "And Money was too!"

"...Money?" Clover asked slowly not understanding who or what she was talking about until Sam shed some light on it. "Money is Monique's nickname."

Clover said nothing for a long moment just staring back at Sam with wide eyes. Then around ten second later both women burst out laughing at how supremely, unchangingly vain Mandy was to this day.

Of course she'd give her daughter a pretentious pet name like Money. Mandy didn't know the first thing about being modest. With all the money she had, you'd think she could purchase herself a little modesty but alas.

When Sam's laughter died down she resumed her work on the wedding gown while talking to Clover. "You know it doesn't bother me when she picks on me anymore, I've honestly learned to tune her out. But when she goes after Josie it just … it ticks me off."

Carefully snipping the stray threads on the underside of the dress' corset left from her addition of sequins on the bodice with a scissor, she sighed again. "Monique gives Josie enough of a hard time at school already."

"Well we can't be surprised that she inherited Mandy's inbred—" Clover had to resist with great effort from saying the word she really wanted to (bitchiness) due to Josie being right there and listening to her every word. Picking one she could get away with she kept talking.

"—Cruelty. Of course she's going to take after her mom."

Watching Josie drop her head and sigh clearly, mentally preparing for more of Monique's harassment when it was time to go back to kindergarten again on Monday, Clover couldn't help but remember the time when she, Alex, and Sam used to dread running into Mandy and having her dampen their spirits with her unwelcome presence.

"But like whatever!" Clover snorted, moving to cheer her up. "She can buy her little _banshee_ the world and everything in it. Whatever she does, she still won't be able to make her the cutest little girl ever because that title is already taken and we knowwwww by whom!"

Picking up Josie with one hand she started tickling her all over with the other until every trace of sorrow left her petite face. "Yes we do! Yes we do!" She declared leaving the little redhead to giggle rampantly.

When Clover finally took pity on her and set her down she caught her breath before smiling and mumbling. "I wish you have come with us to the park today Auntie Clover! It would have been wots and wots of fun!"

"Oh I know pumpkin, I know," Clover apologized for not being there to deal with Mandy this time. But what she'd gone and done instead was hopefully going to be her ticket to a life that even Mandy would one day envy.

"But Auntie Clover had to take care of something that just couldn't wait."

"How was it by the way?" Sam asked now finally finished the wedding dress as she rolled up her measuring tape, wrapping an elastic band around it and started putting away her other supplies in their plastic containers. "Your shoot? Did it go well?"

"Huh?" Clover said before remembering that was the lie she'd used to go see Scam and quickly grinning before Sam caught on that she hadn't posed for any pictures today. "Oh it was good. It was good!" Clover bobbed her head up and down. "A productive experience I think."

"Well that's good, I'm happy for you." Sam smiled back at her before frowning a little again as she couldn't help but wish that her day had been as fruitful. As much as she'd gotten done, that whole experience with Mandy had really ruined her Saturday.

"Aww don't feel bad Sammie…" Clover suddenly said like she could read her thoughts. "You know she's only being like that with you because you're down on your luck right now. But that won't be forever and then Mandy will shut up too. You'll see!"

Normally she'd be a lot more pissed off at hearing about Mandy getting Sam down again but not today. Because while she'd always believed that one day everything would get better for Sam, today she _knew_ it would.

Tim Scam was a million times richer and far more influential than Mandy and that lame-o husband of hers that she liked to flaunt so much. And he? He **was **Sam's future. Sam and Josie's future.

Things were finally looking up in a way they hadn't in a long, long time. And this time nothing, _no one _was going to ruin this. She was going to make sure of it.

She smiled brightly as she had that thought, something Sam caught onto instantly as she'd been staring at Clover after her little inspirational speech to her just now.

"You're almost acting as though you've actually seen my future or something," she couldn't help but say because while Clover had always been amazingly optimistic for her, she'd never sounded more confident, more sure than she did in this moment that things would actually, truly turn around for her.

"Oh I have!" Clover blurt out, unable to contain it as she immediately thought of Scam again and everything she'd learned of him so far.

But the funny look Sam gave her when in her state of distracted happiness, she took the bridal veil off the body form and placed it on Sam's head, forced her to calm herself down. She couldn't let her know just yet. It was too soon.

Waving a hand airily she rebounded with a giggle and a shrug. "What I mean is ... it's only common sense right? There is always light at the end of the tunnel! The only way to go when you hit rock bottom is up! The sun always comes out eventually!"

"THAAAAA SUN'LL COME OUT TOMMOWW!" Josie started to sing now fully back to being the happy ray of sunshine she usually was and soon Clover joined into the song herself, laughing and grinning all the while. "Bet your bottom dollaaaaar, that tomorrow there'll be sun!"

Sam smiled shaking her head at the madness of the two most important girls in her life before finding their enthusiasm too contagious and finally erupting into a fit of chuckles herself as she too started to sing with them.

And while Clover kept singing with Josie and Sam, her thoughts remained on a certain someone. On the one man who could end all of Sam's suffering once and for all and fill the gaping hole that had been in Josie's life since even before her birth.

Be the husband that Sam deserved and the father that Josie needed.

Yes the sun would come out tomorrow, she assured herself as she waited for Sam's phone to ring or to hear a knock sound on her front door.

... It _had_ to.

* * *

Rolling over in his king-sized bed again for the first time Scam noticed how big, empty, and lonely it was with him being the only one occupying it. He'd always appreciated the extra leg room but tonight it almost seemed excessive.

Maybe it was because of his inability to sleep right now or more so what he kept seeing behind his closed eyes each time he managed to nod off for a few.

_Dreams._

In every one, every time, a beautiful and blushing Samantha Simpson in a different wedding dress. An ivory one to suit her complexion, a champagne one that had her look as regal as a princess, a soft pink gown that made her seem a Cecile Brunner rose herself, a pure white one that made her beauty rival the moon itself...

In St. Mark's Basilica in Venice, Villa Arconati in Milan, La Clef Louvre hotel in Paris, The Plaza in NYC, on his own private island near Africa (1) ...

Being _his wife_, becoming **Samantha Scam**.

Clover ... _really_ had planted that idea in his brain good hadn't she? He'd never known nor would he in a million years have thought that the blonde could be so convincing. But perhaps it was because this wasn't Clover's thought that had been forcefully incepted into his mind but one of his own that had always been there idling in the back of it.

Once more that feeling that something was missing in the otherwise grand and perfect life he had made for himself today nagged away at him. After all, wasn't it the old cliché? That behind every great man was a woman?

The fact that he hadn't been able to stop thinking about Sam since he'd bumped into her for even a second left him restless. He was a busy man with a full schedule. His days were packed with deals to close, and places to be but even then in the midst of it all, somehow, no matter how much he tried to shoo her away, she held all his attention while he'd basically functioned on autopilot since that night.

He'd had a chance to put an end to it this afternoon. All he had to have done was crumple up that business card Clover had written on. Burn it with a lighter or toss it in the paper shredder in his office.

But he'd done none of those things. Instead he'd promptly entered all of Sam's information on his phone to keep it from getting lost just as soon as Clover left his premises. Yet again his actions said everything didn't they? Would he have done so if he didn't want to see her again? Didn't want something more to happen with her and himself?

Whether or not there was really a chance for him and Sam ... he certainly _seemed_ to want there to be. So the answer to his question was staring him right in the face. He was guilty as charged by Clover.

Yes, he was interested in Sam Simpson _that way_. Very much, very greatly so.

"I guess there's just one thing to do then..." Scam whispered to himself as he flicked his gaze in the dark to his left at the glass bedside table where his phone lay illuminated, fully-charged and ready for use.

Should he call her? No. No, that wouldn't be right. What he had to say, the conversation that they needed to have was one that was best to do in person and face to face.

So he smiled, closing his eyes and relaxing into another dream about the redhead who'd shaken his entire world as he waited for morning to come when he'd finally see her again.

* * *

Tenderly running her fingers over her finished creation Sam took just one last moment to admire it before she placed it inside a white, cardboard box to keep it secure and wrinkle-free while she brought it to Kelsey.

She had a very busy day ahead of her. As helpful as always, Clover had thoughtfully taken Josie to her place for the day so that she didn't need to rely on her babysitter who would need to be paid with the money she was super tight on.

After she delivered the dress she still had to drop off her rent to her landlord before the final deadline this afternoon and run a few other important errands before it was time for her cashier job at a Mom-and-Pops convenience store from 3 pm to 6 pm.

Then she'd have just enough time to get home and change before she left for her waitressing gig at a busy restaurant establishment downtown that would keep her occupied from 7:30 pm till 2 am. Factoring in her portion of the cleanup duties when the doors closed there, she'd make it back home around 3 am if she was worked fast and was lucky to hitch a ride with Rebecca, a kind co-worker who had the same shift as her and didn't mind driving her home because she too was a young, single woman and understood the risks of wandering around so late on these streets alone.

And so would go her Sunday, just like every other one for as far back as she could recall.

Downing the last of her cold coffee that she didn't have the minute and a half that she needed to reheat it in the microwave because she had to be out the door in the next 60 seconds, Sam took a deep breath before getting up to go and face another day full of battles in her hectic race for survival while praying that one day things might not be quite so chaotic.

Just as she had that thought a knock resonated throughout her home. There was someone at her front door.

Could Kelsey have decided to come here to pick up her dress in person? That would save her a good 45 minutes of valuable time if she had.

Seeing that she wasn't expecting anyone else, she figured it had to be her and quickly placed the box with the dress in it into a shopping bag and walked over to the door ready to hand it to her with a big smile on her face.

But when she opened the door a mixture of shock, confusion, and fear hit her all at once so strongly that she was almost taken off her feet.

She almost dropped the package in her hands, her heart started to run a marathon inside her chest while its beat pounded so loudly that she could feel it dancing inside her eardrums and at all her pulse points.

_"Wha-what's he doing here?!"_ She thought frantically with her eyes peeled wide as she stared with her jaw on the floor at her unexpected visitor, the one she hadn't anticipated seeing again so soon or ever again.

_"How did he find me?!"_ She gulped dryly as she remained glued in place in her door-frame as though her feet had suddenly grown roots that held her captive there. And then she had the scariest thought of all.

_"Wait ...__**WHY**__ did he find me?"_

But before she could ask him any of her questions that were hammering the insides of her skull, he asked her one of his own. A simple and short one.

"Can I come in?" He requested in his familiar baritone voice, so harmlessly and with a charming smile on his profoundly handsome face as he stood there at her doorstep with his hands in the pockets of his black, wool, trench coat, the very same he'd been wearing that night when she'd seen him after half a decade and they'd kissed.

Taking her silence as an invitation inside, he almost stepped into her abode but at the very last second Sam unfroze and succeeded in stopping him by slamming the door in his face leaving him grunting from surprise on the outside while on the inside, she had a bout of hysteria which progressed into a full-blown nervous breakdown when _Tim Scam _started calling out her name and rapping his knuckles on her door again to be let in.

She backed away from the door in rapid steps taking deep breaths as she thought about the man just outside and how dangerous she knew he could be if felt like it.

Chewing on her lower lip in nervousness she could only ask herself one thing over and over in blind panic ...

What the _hell_ was she going to do?!

* * *

(1) *waits to see if someone catches that reference* :D

So Sam and Scam _finally _meet again.

And another familiar face showed up! What did you guys think about **Mandy** and her daughter Money? I hinted she's connected to Sam's past and more on that will come later.

There's quite a lotttt of drama there and Mandy is going to have a big part in this story. As you can probably already tell, it won't be a positive role. x_x

Anyway! Thoughts on Clover, Scam, Sam, Josie? If you're enjoying this so far? **Review please if possible?** ^-^

_Thanks as always!_

_Cresenta_


	6. Chapter 6

Gahhh later than I wanted to update! x_x I'm so sorry!

Thanks **MUCHLY** again to everyone who left comments, faved, or followed this or anything else I wrote! :)

Disclaimer: CRESENTA IS STILL TRYING TO GET HER HANDS ON TS OWNERSHIP. ONE DAYYYY!

* * *

Sam took deep breaths trying her best to persuade her heart from jumping right out of her chest as it so badly wanted to right now.

Eyes wide, she backed away from the door as Scam kept pounding his fists on it asking to be let inside.

**"Sam? Sammie? SAMANTHA!" **

His imposing voice echoed in her ears refusing to die down even though it had been around five minutes since she'd slammed the door in his face. She'd hoped her paying him no mind would be all it took for him to turn right back around, hop into his car, and take a hike but unfortunately it didn't look like things were going to go quite so smoothly for her.

_"He's not going to go away ... is he?"_ She asked herself before letting out a sigh from deep in her lungs and shaking her head as she realized she'd been stupid to think so in the first place. This wasn't just some random bozo, this was Tim _freaking_ Scam. He wasn't going to just leave without getting answers. He always finished things and they had unfinished business between them thanks to that kiss she'd regrettably shared with him two nights ago.

She could slap herself for that right now, just raise her hand and smack herself right across the face for letting him do that to her. All because of her lack of judgement and her momentary lapse in self control, she'd opened up to him that night. She'd told him things about herself that a person should never tell their enemy and did things with him that a woman should never do with a man if she wasn't looking to get his attention.

And worst of all? She closed her eyes pained and covered her face with her hands as she cursed at herself harshly for her misstep.

She'd invited him back into her life. And thanks to her foolishness, here he was now as a result of that mistake asking her to let him in _some more_.

But it wasn't about to happen, she vowed determinedly. She'd let him get all that he was going to get of her for this lifetime and she had no interest whatsoever in surrendering more of herself to him that that.

Shooting one last hot glare at the door where Scam was still ceaselessly banging, Sam tiptoed around her flat not to be heard by him as she quickly gathered up her things. She put on her jacket, picked up the bag with Kelsey's wedding gown in it and her purse before sneaking out of the back door.

Once outside, she very quietly shut the door behind her making sure to only let go of the doorknob when it was fully closed to prevent it from making the loud, shrieking sound it normally did when released because of it being so old and janky much like the rest of her rundown place.

Letting out a breath of relief when she heard the knocking softly continuing behind her, she took a second to draw the hood of her purple coat up to hide her face as she walked towards the destination of her first errand.

Hopefully her door would hold up to Scam's battering until he tired himself out and gave up and if not, then soon enough her landlord (who was nosey to say the least and made sure to walk past the property at least once a day) would definitely call the police on him if he didn't leave in peace.

In either case he should be long gone by the time she got home after her last shift when Clover would drop Josie off. Under no circumstances did she want her daughter to meet Scam. She feared if she saw him hanging around then she'd get the wrong idea seeing as she never allowed any guy to get anywhere near their home.

The last thing she needed was Josie thinking that Tim Scam of all men was her dad or something.

Confident that that would never be due to how she was handling the situation, she slipped away never noticing how right after she jumped the chain fence and landed on the other side that there were eyes now keenly watching her.

_Tim Scam's_ eyes.

He couldn't help but be impressed as he witnessed Samantha Simpson scale that tall gate with so much ease and grace, displaying a remnant of the super spy she once used to be. And it seemed that just like back then, she was looking to make his life harder than it had to be.

Watching her move with confidence, with a swagger in her step as though she truly did think she'd never be seeing him again after this, he was left amused because the Sam he used to know would have known better. _Much better_.

But it was all good, he thought smirking to himself as he coolly strolled to where his black Lamborghini Veneno Roadster was parked, taking up most of the cramped street that her small abode was located in. He'd anticipated something like this happening knowing her as well as he did to be stubborn as hell, so he'd come prepared. His schedule for today was absolutely clear save for one task and one task alone:

Talking to Samantha.

His smirk widened on his lips as he buckled himself in, pulled up the tinted windows, and started up his car stealthily following the unsuspecting redhead as she went about her day.

And he wouldn't be leaving her alone ... until _he did_.

* * *

Sam couldn't suppress her smile as she sat in Kelsey's house, in her living room sipping an espresso and munching on the yummy Snickerdoodles she'd been offered in polite greeting as the soon-to-be bride opened up the package she'd brought her and practically squealed in awe at the dress she was now holding in her hands. The same she'd be wearing as she walked down the altar in just 6 days time and became Mrs. Abbott.

"Oh my ... Oh my goodness! This is absolutely gorgeous!" Kelsey exclaimed as she held it up to her own body and marvelled at it endlessly with her jaw on the floor.

"I'm so glad you like it!" Sam beamed as she watched Kelsey study every inch of the gown with her hazel eyes wide while she flooded her with compliments over and over again about her craftsmanship.

_"Gosh, you have got to be some kind of magician to be able to make a garment this detailed and exquisite all by yourself!"_

_"You must come from a family of talented tailors and seamstresses to have this much skill in your fingers Sam!"_

_"Seriously! Your work could easily rival Luxe! Maybe even Vera Wang! Oscar de la Renta! Reem Acra!"_

She stayed there for another ten minutes listening to the heart-warming praise even though had it been her choice, she'd stay for much longer. Few things brought her as much genuine joy and pride anymore as anyone complimenting her handiwork; the one thing she felt she was still any good at.

But alas her rent had to be paid and if she wanted to make the payment before she was given another threatening warning about the very real risk of being evicted for being late or not paying _again_, she'd have to leave now.

"I'm so happy you're satisfied with the finished product," Sam said as she put her now empty cup on the coffee table and rose from the couch with a grateful smile on her face. "Thank you so much for commissioning me Kelsey I … I appreciate it more than words."

She took a deep breath in then, always feeling like a bit of a nag and annoyance for asking her few customers to do this for her.

But her desire to provide better for her little girl made her swallow her pride quickly. Twiddling her fingers a little, she bit her cheek getting up her nerve before reminding Kelsey of the promise she'd made to her.

"You'll um ... you'll remember to tell people about me right?"

Thankfully Kelsey was understanding and smiled back at her. "Oh don't you worry about that!" She assured her. "I'm calling over my sister and bridesmaids in a half hour. There will be much talk about the fabulous dress you made for me and by the time my wedding is over? I'll wager that you'll be looking at least a couple of new orders."

Sam's smile widened in gratitude for her support and even more when Kelsey handed her a brown paper bag which contained five Snickerdoodle cookies. She must have seen how she'd only eaten one of the two cookies she'd given her, placing one in her pocket for Josie whose favourite cookies just so happened to be Snickerdoodles.

Raising her arms she hugged Kelsey for her kindness for a long minute before saying goodbye and finally parting ways.

Tucking Josie's treat in her purse for later tonight Sam took a second to sift through her purse and confirm she had the white envelope with the correct cash amount for her householder before moving to go again. She counted the bills carefully before zipping up her bag and descending down the porch steps onto the sidewalk.

Only to freeze in place when she thought she saw something or rather _someone _familiar lurking nearby.

Her head whipped to her left, her eyes narrowing directly at the tall, bushy White Alder tree behind which she'd thought she'd seen a tall, dark, handsome _not _stranger.

Her breath got caught in her lungs with a sharp hitch as dread started to fill her. Scam ... he couldn't be following her around right? She didn't want to believe that he'd go that far.

Deciding not to panic until she absolutely had reason to do so, slowly she forced herself to calm down. When she'd regained her composure she focused on the tree to see any movement to indicate anyone's presence there. But after a full five minutes of staring at it so hard that her pupils stung she let it go.

It must have been her imagination telling her that he was there. She was just paranoid, just on edge that was all.

Checking her watch she gulped when she realized she was now actually starting to run late. Without wasting any more precious time she sped off towards her next errand entirely missing the flashy car that stuck out like a sore thumb among the other much smaller, much more weathered vehicles parked along the quiet street.

The very same that took off the precise minute that _she did_.

* * *

"Ah Samantha. I was beginning to think you'd finally failed to come up with your rent."

Her landlady's son, Jared jabbed at her not so subtly while giving her the stink eye as he needlessly counted the money she'd handed him no less than three times, even going as far as checking the bills to make sure they were legit and not counterfeit right in front of her face.

But Sam controlled her urge to react with anger to his insulting behaviour towards her. She knew that his mother had been hoping that this was the month when at long last she could kick her out and find herself a far more reliable tenant. She'd managed to foil those plans so this kind of sour treatment was exactly what she'd expected coming here today.

Grinning and bearing the rudeness just like a responsible adult, just like _always_, she didn't utter a single word to defend herself and kept her mouth shut.

It wasn't like she didn't want to say something; oh she definitely did! More than anything she'd love to shove the key to this lady's ratty flat up her ass and shout that she needed to learn a thing or two about respect but she was more than aware that sadly she needed the roof over her and her baby's head. That kind of altercation would give Mrs. Ruth Ainsley just the excuse that she'd been itching for to send her packing.

So she simply nodded, swore to pay up again next month before the deadline even while having absolutely zero clue if she'd even be able to, and swiftly exited before her anxiety made her have a nervous breakdown right then and there.

As she left she vowed to herself that if by some miracle she ever did come by a better paying job or somehow won the lottery that she currently could not afford to buy even a one dollar Scratchcard of, the first thing she'd be doing would be moving into a more pleasant and peaceful living situation where she wouldn't have to walk around on eggshells for fear of being tossed out at any given second.

She was in the process of making the five minute walk to the nearest bus station when she had to break into a mad sprint as the bus arrived there before she did.

Bursting through the doors just before they closed, too busy panting to catch her breath as she paid her fare with shaking fingers and took a seat after securing her purse in between her feet on the floor, Sam never noticed that the same expensive car that had been popping up all morning was now tailing behind her bus as it left the stop.

* * *

Ringing up the next person in the small line of two at the convenience store, Sam carefully began placing the skim milk, frozen pizza, bread and toilet paper they'd purchased into a plastic bag.

She was almost finished when a small hand which belonged to the customer's 6-year-old daughter meekly placed a Twix bar in front of her before glancing up at her papa with a hopeful, childish grin.

It only took him three seconds to smile back at her and ruffle her hair before he gave Sam a silent not to say that he'd like to buy that as well.

Adding it to his total and slipping it into the bag with the other items, Sam battled hard to keep her face blank not to give away her thoughts.

How she wished that just like this father, she could make her child's impulsive whims come true on instant. Never would she have thought five years ago when she'd been blowing up money on designer clothes and VIP concert tickets, that one day she'd be longing to buy something as cheap as a chocolate bar and would be unable to. No wonder Mandy laughed at her.

Stifling her bitter smile at the pathetic joke her life had become, she made the customer's bill and thanked him for shopping with them today before moving onto the next person. They only had a pack of cigarettes they wanted to purchase so it only took a minute to make the transaction.

Once the store was empty again she decided to take a breather before she had to start stocking the shelves.

Moving to go to the small bathroom located in the back to pee before someone else came in, she was making her way there when she happened to glance out of the store window and stopped in her tracks.

There it stood again, the exact same grandiose and massive car right outside the store.

Her heartbeat soaring again she felt her stomach twisting inside itself as she couldn't take her eyes off it. Even though the windows were up and she couldn't see anything inside, she had a sinking feeling that a _certain_ male was sitting inside of its air conditioned interior just ... watching her.

_"Scam ... it's Scam!" _Sam's brain kept telling her over and over and over again for two reasons.

One, he was shady enough to stalk someone being a vile criminal in the past. And two, _who else _could afford a car like that? It had to worth a couple of million dollars at the least being a goddamn Lamborghini and Scam was the only one who she knew had millions _and_ a reason to follow her seeing she'd ignored him and all.

Still not wanting to deal with him, she didn't dare go outside and knock on that car's window to find out if her gut was right or not. Instead she ran as fast as she could into the restroom.

She stayed there for a good fifteen minutes before coming back out and praying that that car would be gone now. Luckily for her it was and she let out a long breath of relief as she resumed working while hoping that was the last she would see of that car and of its potential owner today.

* * *

_Of course_ this was going to happen.

Sam growled in barely contained anger from her spot in the back kitchen as she stared at the man seated at one of the restaurant's tables with her face fuming and red from rage.

Tim Scam was sitting there looking oh so innocent as he sipped away at his sparkling water looking every bit like a businessman who'd spent the long day working in his office and now just wanted a nice meal to wind down with.

But she could see how every few seconds his eyes would dart around the place looking at any girl wearing the white blouse, black tights, and black skirt which was the uniform that waitresses wore here.

And she knew he wasn't doing that just to be a pervert and leer at women. No, he was looking for a particular female employee. He was searching ... for _her_.

She hadn't told him that she worked here that night they'd conversed nor the time of her shift which meant that the only way he could know to look for here was if he'd seen her come in with his own two eyes. Something he only could have done if he'd been following her around for hours.

To confirm her blaring suspicion that that was just how he'd spent his time since he'd arrived at her place early this morning, Sam looked out the glass bay windows at the parking lot and felt vindicated when she spotted the same matte black car there. She had her proof now; Scam _had _been stalking her.

It would be much too much of a coincidence at this point for him to just happen to be everywhere she'd been today. At Kelsey's house, her landlord's address, the supermarket where she'd gone grocery shopping, the convenience store she worked at and now the restaurant too? Sure it was a nice place and all but it wasn't on Scam's level. After all he could afford to eat at The Polo Lounge, Capo, Patina, the Providence for crying out loud! Why oh why would he come here then?

Because he wasn't here for dinner, he was here to harass her. Period. She shook her head in his direction feeling disgusted at his audacity to go this far.

So much for him having changed and become a "nice guy". What a load of steaming BS that had been! He was still his troublesome self looking to cause nothing but chaos and he'd chosen her as his target!

She had half a mind to storm right over and slap him again but stopped herself knowing she couldn't do that. She could not make a scene here. She was a waitress and easily replaceable. If she chased away a patron, especially a rich one who could spend a pretty penny, she'd be sacked on the spot.

But at the same time she really didn't want to give him what he wanted which was seeing her again. Yet she was the only waitress free at the moment and so it looked like Scam was finally going to get what he desired from her.

She groaned moving to head out to take his order and dreading having to do so only to halt when she heard an excited giggle from behind her. And from how high up it was on the perky metre, she knew it had to be none other than her least favourite co-worker Mia Costa.

"Oooh! He's a hottie, that one!" She quipped pointing right at Scam while practically drooling out of the side of her thirsty mouth. "He looks like a model!" She mused, batting her eyes in a moony manner. "No! A prince! A king!"

Sam couldn't keep herself from scoffing at the black, curly-haired woman. "Looks can be deceiving," she cautioned leaving Mia to reluctantly tear her eyes off of the man she was giving hungry looks to and look at her instead.

"You KNOW him?!" She asked pouting as if feeling jealous of that possibility.

Realizing her mistake in saying what she had, Sam bit her tongue hard as punishment before swiftly shaking her head no. "I don't but ... you can never really tell much about a guy by just how he looks, you know? You never know what's going on inside his head."

As she said those words of caution her mind drifted back to the first time she'd met Tim Scam and had similar thoughts about him as Mia was right now and to one _other man _that she'd incorrectly put up on a pedestal and had paid a hefty price for doing so before she came back to the present. Seeing how her co-worker was still making goo-goo eyes at him, she tried again to get her back down to the ground.

"I just don't get a good vibe off him Mia. He looks like he's after something."

"Probabllllllly a taste of our delicious, succulent Bistro Steaks with mustard, smashed potatoes, and spinach! We are famous for them!"

_"What a cheerleader,"_ Sam thought feeling her eye twitch at Mia's words. No wonder she was the boss' favourite worker. She was pulled from her private thoughts when she asked her if she was going to wait Scam's table or not.

Getting an idea, Sam gave Mia a big smile. "Nah, why don't you do it? Maybe you'll get his attention? I think you and him would make a verrrrry good couple."

That was all she had to say to have Mia practically marathon her way out of the back towards Scam to talk to him before someone else did.

And Sam smirked as she watched Scam's face fall automatically at the sight of the bubbly girl attempting to flirt with him. She clearly wasn't the one he'd wanted to come to his table and predictably just seconds later he made up some excuse, tucked in his chair, and left the restaurant in that same car that had been shadowing her all day.

_"Finally!"_ Sam thought feeling triumphant at at last ridding herself of the nuisance that he was and not a moment too soon as she was just about to lose her mind. But it did finally look like he'd gotten the message through his thick skull that she didn't want anything to do with him and he would be leaving her alone now.

All she had to do was get through a few more hours and then she'd come home to no one other than her baby girl.

She smiled looking forward to spending time with Josie, her little ray of sunshine and hearing about how her day with her Auntie Clover had gone, giving her the cookies she had for her with some warm milk, and finally reading her a bedtime story before tucking her in to get the sleep she needed to be ready for kindergarten tomorrow.

A nice ending to an otherwise crappy day with just her and her little angel and not another soul.

Especially _no _Tim Scam.

* * *

"Here you go honey!" Clover called out cheerfully handing Josie her refilled bowl of ice cream.

She smiled as Josie raised her chubby arms and took the treat from her, settling it in her lap atop the fluffy blanket she was snuggled up under before she started to nibble on the scoops of the banana split sundae with heaps of multicolour sprinkles just how she liked it with the big wooden spoon she only brought out when Josie was over.

And her smile only became wider as she saw all the happiness on her favourite cutie pie's face. It made her so happy that she could help bring her some joy like this. She'd done her best to make this day as fun as possible.

They'd gone to the park to make up for her missing out on it yesterday, played hide-and-seek and catch there before taking a long walk along the nearby bridge to see the waterfall that Josie loved seeing so much. When they'd gotten back to her place she'd ordered lunch (pizza of course, Josie's favourite). Then fuelled up, the rest of the day had been spent doing whatever Josie had wanted to. Blanket forts, dressing up like princesses, arts and crafts, playing beauty salon just to name a few.

By the final hours of their day together they'd both become totally worn out and decided to binge on Disney movies ending with Josie's favourite which was coming to an end now: Walt Disney's Cinderella.

Watching Josie's happy face in the blue light that came off the television set, Clover admired how peaceful she looked and decided to wait till the very end of the film to ask her the question she had to. Now was the best time to do it since Sam wasn't around to interrupt as she usually did when it came to the matter of her wanting to spoil Josie.

Seeing Cinderella's wedding scene appear on the screen Clover left the room and returned just as the credits were rolling to Josie singing along in her adorable baby voice to the iconic "A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes" song. She let her finish the song before switching off the TV and turning towards Josie on the couch.

"Sooo ... did you have a good time today?"

"Did I ewer! I wuv you Auntie Clover!" Josie exclaimed joyously as she placed her small head into her chest and cuddled against her.

Clover stroked her red hair for a moment and told her that she was glad to hear that. She pulled back taking the empty bowl she was still holding onto and setting it on the coffee table before wiping off Josie's mouth with a slightly damp napkin to get rid of the sprinkles and syrup staining the edges of it.

"Now before I take you back home to mommy, there's something very, _very_ important that I need help with. Something only you—"

She paused to poke Josie's small nose affectionately before going on. "Can help me with."

Immediately little Josie's eyes lit up like the moon that was hanging in the sky outside. "Oooh what it Auntie? I wuv to help out!"

Having her attention Clover finally told her what she needed from her. "Well your birthday is coming up in a month, the big number 5! Soooo..."

She reached behind her and pulled out the toy catalogue she'd hidden behind her back. Handing it to Josie she grinned. "What I need youuuuuu to do, is to put on your thinking cap and tell me which one of these you'd like as your gift from me!"

Opening up the pamphlet from one of the biggest toy stores in Los Angeles, Clover began pointing at various items. "Will it be a brand, new Barbie doll? Or..." Her finger landed on another toy. "Or maybe a Hatchimal? I hear those are totally in right now!"

She figured that would probably be what she ended up getting her. Sure they were a bit pricier than what Sam usually allowed her to get but she couldn't put a dollar amount on her niece's happiness. She'd handle Sam's objections later on, it wasn't like she wasn't used to tuning them out by now.

And besides being a birthday gift, Josie could even take it in for show-and-tell, something that despite her never saying it, she knew as well as Sam did that she had trouble with not having too many nice things to show off to her fellow classmates.

Hearing Josie shyly mutter that anything was okay and she really didn't have to get her something, Clover closed the brochure before raising Josie's chin to make sure she was looking her in the eye.

"Did mommy give you a lecture about accepting my gifts again?" She asked, giving the small redhead a knowing look.

Just a second later the glum look on her cute face confirmed that that was just what had happened.

"Aww sweetie; mommy doesn't mean it!" She promised, telling her not to worry so much before prodding her once more to please tell her what toy she'd like. "Come on, there's gotta be something you really, really want! Just tell me!"

Lowering her head again Josie twiddled her thumbs, a nervous habit she'd inherited from her mother before speaking again but so quietly that she could barely hear her.

"There something I weally, weally, _wealllllly _want but ... I think I should fowget about it."

"Why?" Clover asked only to have Josie let out a sigh too depressed for any four-year-old and whisper that what she wanted was impossible.

"Nothing's impossible pumpkin," Clover attempted to placate her but Josie stubbornly shook her head no before proceeding to explain why what she wanted truly was something she could never have.

"But it is Auntie! Ewey year when I bwow out the candles I aways ask fow it!"

She'd done so for as long as she could remember. When her mommy instructed her to make a wish, she always closed her eyes super tight, wiggled her nose, crossed her fingers, and asked for just one thing. Just one thing every, _single _time.

"But I newer ewer get it. Newer!" She frowned sadly with the frustration of many years in her exhausted tone.

"Tell me what it is," Clover urged hating to see her look so down. "Maybe I can make it happen for you," she suggested smiling at Josie who looked at her with wide eyes. Could her Auntie Clover really grant this wish of hers? She was her bestest friend in the universe and always did make sure she got what she wanted but you weren't supposed to tell anyone your deepest wish because it wouldn't come true then.

She stayed silent juggling if she should or not for a few before finally deciding to say it. This was her Auntie Clover and she always told her everything. Taking in a deep breath she made her confession.

"Auntie Clover, what I want mow than anythinggggg in the whole wide world, mow than any toy or game or dwess is ... daddy. I ... just want daddy."

Hearing her simple wish, Clover's heart crumbled inside her and as much as she struggled to hide her sorrow for the petite girl in front of her from her, Josie picked up on it and turned her head away with another miserable sigh.

"But it okay, I alweady know I'll newer ewer have daddy."

"Please don't say that Josie," Clover begged, patting her small shoulder lovingly and trying to cheer her up. "After all doesn't your favourite princess, Cinderella always say that you have to have faith in your dreams or they won't come true? Hmm? Doesn't she?"

At this Josie looked back at her again but still failed to smile as she mumbled, "It hard to have faith Auntie Clover when there no weason to have it anymoe."

Figuring out by now that this time words would not be enough to soothe her, Clover thought long and hard before realizing just what to do.

Sure it was brazen and all but eventually Josie was going to meet the man she believed was destined to be her father so why not do this? This would give her the hope she needed to not give up on having the family she'd always dreamt of, something she so desperately needed right now.

"And what if I showed you your daddy? Would that help you have faith?" Clover propositioned.

Josie's breath caught in her throat at those words and she looked at her aunt with her emerald eyes nearly jumping out of her sockets. Then she began to tug at her skirt impatiently. "You can do that Auntie? Weally? Can you wealllllly?"

Without another word Clover disappeared into her bedroom before coming back with her purse which still contained that magazine that she'd gotten from Scam's office that day. Flipping to the page she remembered featured a close-up of Tim Scam's face she smiled before handing it to the eagerly waiting child who was holding her breath in anticipation.

"Here you go darling. This ... is _your _daddy."

Josie reached for the magazine and the second her eyes fell on the photograph of the man before her, Clover watched how her expression turned into one of awe and wonder. The way she was looking at Scam, she'd never seen her, seen _anyone_ look at anything, anyone with such longing, such pure affection.

She wouldn't even blink her eyes as she stared at him, taking her time to run her tiny fingertips over every inch of his image as if trying to reach him through it.

Soon she started to cry and sniffle clearly overwhelmed at what she was seeing after waiting for this much time.

Was he really her daddy? But he was so perfect?! Yet she couldn't ignore how much they resembled one another. He even had green eyes like she did! He just had to be her daddy!

"Is he weally my daddy?" She asked her trusty Auntie Clover again just to be one thousand percent sure.

But when she just nodded telling her that yes he really, really was, she let out a happy giggle before grinning as she brought the glossy paper right up to her face, her nose squishing against it as she gasped in glee.

"He wook just like Pwince Charming! My daddy is Pwince Charming! My daddy is Pwince Charming!" She started to shout over and over, giddy from the excitement that she could barely contain inside her small body.

She then proceeded to pelt Clover with questions upon questions about him.

"What he like?!"

"Where he live?!"

"When he come home?!"

Realizing that she'd opened Pandora's Box by doing this, Clover knew she had to calm Josie down before she told Sam about this and inadvertently ruined everything. There were only ten minutes now till they had to leave and she had to make it clear that this had to be between just the two of them for now.

"I promise you'll get all your answers soon honey but ... don't say anything to your mommy about him just yet okay? She um …. wants him to be a big surprise for you and if she found out that I told you about him she'll get really, really mad at me. You wouldn't want her to get mad at me right?"

Seeing Josie rigorously shake her head no that she would never want something terrible like that to happen, Clover smiled moving to take the magazine back from Josie and put it away only to have Josie cling onto it with all her might.

"Can I keep it Auntie Clover? I pwomise I won't show mommy!" Josie help up her pinkie to even pinkie swear that she wouldn't and try as she might, Clover couldn't deny her.

Neatly tearing out the picture for her to not damage it, she placed it inside one of the colouring books Josie had brought with her today before helping her put on her coat because it was time for them to make the journey back to Sam.

And as she locked up her place and from the corner of her eye she saw Josie hugging the colouring book with Scam's photo in it close to her heart, she found herself hoping that it really would be soon that she'd get to know him in person.

_"Please God, just please..."_ Clover prayed as she took her small hand in hers and walked her outside to where they'd hail a cab. _"Just let everything go to plan without any hiccups along the way. Let Josie finally experience what it's like to have a father..."_

* * *

Sam smiled to herself breathing in the cool night air from the open car window as her co-worker Rebecca's car neared the street she lived on.

She was almost home.

Stifling a yawn into her hand she reflected on how the day had actually managed to salvage itself once Scam had vanished. She hadn't had to deal with any rude or obnoxious customers with ridiculous requests, had gotten a decent amount of generous tips from considerate patrons, and the restaurant, despite being busy again had closed on time even after clean-up duties allowing her to come home a full hour earlier than she was used to.

Now she just couldn't wait to finally relax. Kick off the uncomfortable black heels she wore, let down her hair from the tight bun it was in, and change into nothing but a loose t-shirt and fuzzy slippers.

"We're here!" Becky announced as she opened the doors for her. Thanking her friend for the drive she got out of her car and waved bye to her, watching until the gray Ford drove away completely.

Maybe one day if her luck would turn around and be kind to her, she'd have her own car again so she could get places without so much hassle.

She remembered those nights which seemed like a lifetime ago now when she'd take long, quiet drives with the wind tousling her long hair and the tune of a classic song she was too embarrassed to listen to in front of Clover and Alex playing softly in the background as she sailed along admiring the glittering lights of the city she called home.

So caught up in fantasizing about being able to drive again, Sam did a double take when she saw a car parked in front of her home. But it wasn't the emerald green Sports car she once used to have... it was a black Lamborghini Veneno Roadster.

And she couldn't believe her eyes when along with the car, she immediately recognized the tall, muscular man dressed in a black trench coat who was standing leaned elegantly against it, the screen of his Apple iPhone 11 Pro illuminating his handsome face as he scrolled through it looking bored as he waited.

"Unbelievable!" Sam whispered under her breath not believing the colossal gall that Tim Scam had to show up before her yet _again_.

Before she could stop herself she marched over to him, loudly stomping her feet on the gravel as she approached. She was sick and tired of him and wanted this,_ all _of this, to end now. Her life was hard enough as is and she didn't need him to turn it into a living hell.

"YOU'VE BEEN STALKING ME!" Sam accused as soon as she reached him, hissing at Scam like a ferocious lioness protecting her territory that he'd dared crossed into without her permission.

He looked up from his phone and instead of apologizing or even looking the slightest bit sorry to see her looking so ticked off at his nonsense, he just shrugged his broad shoulders at her and actually smiled (rather charmingly if she was being honest) before speaking.

"Yes, I have been," He replied unashamed, unbothered.

Lost for words Sam just stared at him incredulously. She would have laughed if she wasn't so damn furious right now at the classic Tim Scam answer he'd given her. Blunt, brazen, and scandalous.

"What else am I supposed to do to get your attention Sam?" She heard him complain next and she finally found her voice at him attempting to justify his improper behaviour today by holding her responsible for it.

Putting her finger on her chin in mock thought she hummed to herself before answering him gingerly. "Oh I dunno. Hmm ... Maybe check your ego and realize that I don't _want _to give it you?"

Watching his pretty face scrunch up at that retort she went on enjoying poking holes into his enormous pride and getting some payback from him.

"Orrrr maybe realize that you're being a dick and total creep following me around like some serial killer?"

Scam sighed long and hard at the spin she was putting on this. Here he'd taken an entire day off his otherwise loaded timetable just for her, and this was the reward he was getting for it.

He shook his head, grumbling to himself because this was so not how he'd been hoping for their love story to begin; fighting again like cats and dogs as they foolishly used to in the past.

"I just want to talk to you Sam," Scam stated attempting to set things back on track for them.

When she shot him a suspicious look he harmlessly raised his hands up as if to show her he had no weapon on him to attack her and really did just want to speak with her and that was it.

Still she hesitated, doubting his intentions because she remembered full well that that was how it had all started that night when they'd kissed. Just an innocent little conversation which had led to so much more.

But then again, Clover would be here with Josie any second now and she needed to shoo him away before that. The avoidance game was not one that she was winning so maybe the best way to get him off her back was to just hear him out.

"Fine," Sam huffed deciding to humour him. Looking him dead in the eye with her arms crossed over her chest and her posture defensive she put him on the spot. "What DO you want to say to me? What the _hell_ are you after Scam? What do you want? Go ahead, say it. You have three seconds."

Scam sighed again, this encounter not going at all the way he'd envisioned in his head.

"Sam..." he murmured in an exasperated voice. "Would you please just—"

"_One_ second," she cut him off giving him a stern look and an eyebrow raise that warned that she really would just walk away if he didn't spit out whatever he had to say now.

With the limited time she'd stingily given him, he tried to find the right words to say what was on his mind but then found himself distracted as he just took her in.

She was standing there almost close enough for her feet to be touching his and despite the unwelcoming expression she was regarding him with ... she was_ so _damn beautiful.

Stray curls of her red hair swayed in the wind and caressed the porcelain white skin of her cheeks, her emerald eyes twinkled like the stars themselves, and her soft pink lips looked so inviting, the gloss they wore catching the moonlight and casting a glow upon them that so completely emphasized their plumpness.

"...Scam?" Sam said a moment later, confused at his sudden silence.

Her saying his name seemed to pull him out his trance as just a second later he told her _exactly _what he wanted from her.

"You ..." he whispered leaving her eyes to go wide as her heart almost stopped beating inside her chest.

As if to make sure that she hadn't misheard him, he took a step closer towards her almost bringing them nose to nose, ignoring how she'd turned into a stone statue from shock at his bold admission as he gazed back at her with smouldering eyes that burned with passion and fire and said again plainly.

"I want ... _**you**__._

* * *

...

Hmm ... Josie _sort of_ met Scam thanks to Clover. Thoughts? :)

Also Scam told Sam (rather bluntly haha) that he wants to be with her. How do you feel Sam will take it? Well? Not so well?

Anyway! Thanks for reading and _**review please **_if you can? ^-^

_Love always!_

_Cresenta_


	7. Chapter 7

New chapter finally done!

Thanks **SO MUCH** again to everyone who left reviews, faved/followed this or anything else I posted! It all means a lot to me! ^-^

Also shameless self-promotion lol, I posted another new fic inspired by this one called "**Happily Ever After?**" like a week ago. Check it out if you can?

Andddd promotion _over_!

Disclaimer: ONE DAY CRESENTA SHALL OWN TS. SHE SHALL I SAY!

* * *

Sam stood frozen in time, her mouth catching flies, her eyes peeled wide, forgetting even to breathe as she stared at the man before her in utter shock for a good five minutes as she attempted to process what she thought he'd just _said _to her.

_"You ... I want ...__** you**__."_

Her emerald eyes wildly searched his sea foam ones for a confirmation and soon there was no denying it for the look in them, a clash of passion and raw fire was so palpable that even if she hadn't heard him say the words at all, just by looking at him she'd be able to tell exactly what they'd been.

She gasped and took a big step back away from him, almost tripping thanks to the high heels she wore and found herself jumping back another foot, afraid when his arms lashed out towards her even though it was obvious he'd only done so to try to steady her from falling flat on her ass.

Now a safe distance away Sam held a hand over her rapidly thumping heart, trying to stifle its frenzy before her missing voice slowly, very slowly returned to her larynx.

She was just open to open her mouth and ask if he was insane when suddenly she paused midway noting movement in a neighbour's window from the corner of her vision.

Her gaze moved off Scam and looked right at it to see Mr. Perez peeping at her not so subtly from behind the edge of his bedroom curtains. This was hardly something new, after all nearly all the men on her block routinely spied on her because sadly she was a young, presumably pretty woman living almost all alone.

Normally this was just another daily annoyance of the difficult life she'd made for herself and she'd long learned to tune it out. But this time as she was leered at she became nervous, dread filling her when she noticed that it wasn't just her that creepy Richard Perez was looking at … but her _and_ Tim Scam.

And for the first time she realized what her standing there in the middle of the night, in such close proximity to her small home with some unknown but clearly well-off man who normally would not be caught dead in such a rundown place _may_ look like to an onlooker's eyes.

The conclusions that could be drawn from this, the rumours that could fly about how she may have scrounged up this month's rent after all, terrified her.

The last thing she needed was her landlady suspecting that out the desperation of hers that was public knowledge, she may have resorted to prostitution, selling her own body to get the money she needed to survive. If that were to happen she'd be kicked out for sure.

Knowing she couldn't do this out here Sam said nothing as she took out her phone, grateful for it still having some battery as she quickly texted Clover to please hold onto Josie for a little bit longer and that she'd explain later. Her message was riddled with typos due to her fingers jittering so badly but thankfully it was enough to get the point across.

She sent it before wordlessly walking towards the entrance of her flat, leaving Scam in wonder as she unlocked the door and stepped inside before holding it open for him to follow her.

For a moment he didn't, finding her invitation suspect. Was she really going to just let him waltz into her house? Into her life? So ... easily?

Curious to find out he slowly obliged and made his way over to her.

But no sooner had he set foot inside her abode and the door shut fully behind him did Samantha make it painfully clear that no, she had no intention whatsoever to make this easy on him.

"DO YOU WANT ME TO BE YOUR **MISTRESS**?! ARE YOU TRYING TO SOLICIT ME FOR **SEX,** SCAM?!"

Scam spun around to look at her with wide, stunned eyes completely taken aback by her nasty remark.

For a minute he couldn't find words as he just stared at her mute from disgust before he began to vehemently defend himself against her lewd accusation towards him.

"What?! N-no! **NO**." He stated firmly, making it certain that that wasn't what he was after all the while feeling sick for even having to do so because she should already know as much.

Sure, they weren't best friends back in the day but with how he carried himself around her, her friends, and other female WOOHP agents it should have been enough for her to understand that he wasn't some sleaze ball. This had been uncalled for.

The genuine repulsion and wounded look he gave her being enough to show that he wasn't lying about this, Sam let it go and switched gears to something less scandalous.

"A charity case then?" She questioned eyeing him pointedly with her arms crossed over her chest and her posture defensive.

The Tim Scam she once knew wasn't much of a giver but he was a hotshot now and the super rich did tend to indulge in such projects to feel good about themselves and of course to get pats on the back in the media.

Mandy Luxe for example always appeared so gracious on the outside, doing giveaways for those underprivileged chiefly through donations to the Designer Clothes for the Needy Charity Drive (1). But those who really knew her like herself and Clover were aware that she only did it to draw attention towards her fashion house and to rub her fortune in other people's faces.

So who was to say that Scam didn't have the same intentions towards her? After all he was arrogant, egotistical, and they had been mortal enemies in the past. He was bound to get a kick out of his success compared to her failure, was he not?

But once more Scam shook his head and denied it.

"No," he insisted, more annoyed this time while giving her an exasperated look which just screamed the words _come on!_ and _seriously?_ at her.

Now having eliminated the only other options and knowing for sure what it was that he was after, Sam decided to stop beating around the. She had to nip this thing in the bud right here and now because what Tim Scam wanted from her? She could never give it to him and he needed, _she needed _him to get that through his thick skull.

"I'm going to make this as quick and painless as I can ... " She paused to draw in a long breath and look him square in the eye before she said what she had to in an unwavering, no-nonsense tone.

"I don't have room in my life for a man. Okay?"

But Scam failed to heed her words as he took a step closer towards her, shaking his head in denial as he whispered softly, "If that were true, then you would not have been in that restaurant that night."

She couldn't fool him so easily. She herself had admitted to him she'd been there on a date and thus on a quest for love.

Sam bit her cheek hard at his words, mentally kicking herself for her prior decision once again to go on that stupid date when she hadn't even been in the mood to. If only she could've seen the trouble that would have come from it, she'd never have gone to that restaurant.

But then again if she had the ability to see the future, her life wouldn't be the mess it was today now would it?

Brushing off that last thought Sam focused on the man in front of her and fixed him with a hostile glare. It seemed he didn't want the process of his rejection to be painless after all.

Fine then she huffed in rage, she'd tried her best to be civil and it ended here.

"Okay," Sam shrugged, raising her hands up in defeat. "You're right, it's not all men. It's just **YOU** that I don't have room for in **MY** life."

The scowl, the look of anguish that formed on his handsome face fuelled her to go on because right now, boy did she want to hurt him.

She was tired, sick and tired and just wanted some relaxation and he was here to ruin it just as selfishly as he'd ruined her day.

"No matter how much I want love, want a romance …" she snarled pointing his way as she declared icily. "I still have standards Scam! You don't meet those standards and you **NEVER** will!"

With that she turned away, unlocking the door for him to get out as she got on with her night.

She took off her coat and hung it where it belonged and then disposed of her heels and changed into slippers, treating him as though he was invisible as she got her place ready for her daughter's eventual arrival.

"Why not?!" She heard him ask, cringing when she realized her intentional rudeness towards him hadn't worked to ward him off.

Irate, she kept her back to him as she tidied up determined to not hear him while he refused to take the hint and continued trying to change her mind.

"Of all the terrible things I did in the past I never once willingly broke your heart," Scam argued remembering how mindful he'd been to not do that even though it had been uncharacteristic of him during a time when he cared for nothing and no one.

To this day he remembered that crush she'd had on him when he'd posed as Mac Smit. Despite his monumental alarm at her admission of it, he had handled it well. He'd been sensitive and respectful towards her, let her down gently, and never once had attempted to use her feelings in a later scheme when honestly? He very well could have tried to do so.

But Sam didn't seem to think that mattered at all as she simply snorted at him unimpressed. "So now you want your chance to do that? Is that it?!"

Doing his best not to be offended by her continual misinterpretation of his motives Scam shook his head again as he fought to make her understand despite her being so damn difficult.

"No Sam ... I ... I just want a chance to try and make it right."

Noting that she had paused in picking up the pieces of a wooden peg puzzle and what looked to be a knockoff Furby toy on the small coffee table and was now looking at him again, he carefully picked the right words before continuing.

"I can't help but feel at least partially responsible for how things turned out for you."

Letting out a long sigh he ran a hand through his brown hand as a look of guilt crossed his features at the rotten situation she was in now, one that he'd never ever have expected Sam Simpson to be in five years ago.

She was the smart one, the one with all the potential, out of all of her friends it was she who had the highest chance to be a success and yet all her talent, her skills ... they'd amounted to absolutely nothing. It pained him to see her like this and if he'd had any part in what had happened to her, direct or indirect, he wanted to take responsibility for it.

"If I'd just given us a chance back then maybe today you would be ..." A small smile tugged at this lips at the thought of the amazing life they could have made together, the power couple they could have been. "We would be—"

"Look _Scam_," Sam cut him off, pronouncing his name with excessive venom like a female snake spitting poison from her fangs. "You've made enough mistakes of your own to hold yourself accountable for, you don't need to borrow _mine_."

Taking a step closer to where he was she held the toy in her hand like a weapon raised towards him before hissing. "What happened with me is all on me. **My** mistakes. **My **life. **Mine**. You have no part in it."

Watching his face fall and his smile melt away completely Sam felt satisfied that she'd cleared that up and went on to address something else she also desperately needed to.

"And that history of ours, that past you just referred to?" Her voice almost shook with rage now as she was forced to recall it, remember another idiotic mistake that she'd once made when it came to her love life which could be described as nothing more than a serious of unfortunate events.

"It was a crush! A stupid crush that an even stupider, naive teenager had on a man who was selling her a lie! Just the first betrayal from a guy! A giant red flag for things to come! Nothing more! NOTHING MORE!" She decreed now shuddering as she glared.

And the daggers of her eyes carved gaping holes into his heart and soul as he listened to her speechless, never having felt so hated in his life even back when he had actually been the bad guy who deserved the loathing.

"So stop bullshitting!" She cried, not giving a damn about the carnage she was inflicting on his feelings as she balled up her fists and only shouted louder. Louder and louder till the insides of her flat almost trembled from her volume.

"Stop trying to turn what we were into some epic romance because that's miles away from what it was!"

Her rant over and hopeful that it was finally enough to make him leave her the hell alone at long last, Sam turned away again.

Only to have him mumble five words under his breath that forced her to freeze on the spot.

"... But it could have been."

All of sudden Sam was transported away to another time and place, into her past and into the arms of the man whom she'd forgotten the entire world and even herself for. She closed her eyes as unforgotten pain hit her like a burst dam.

"Life is about what is Scam ... not what could have been."

Her lips said those words on their own, she didn't even register them as she remained caught up in her thoughts of the dreams she'd once cherished and believed to be sacred that had been so badly shattered that they could never be repaired again.

She_ could have _been a success instead of a failure. She _could have _graduated at the top of her college like she had the brains to instead of be the dropout she was today. She _could have _gotten the support of her family when she revealed she was pregnant. She _could have_ married the man she'd once been certain was the love of her life.

Could have. _Could have_. **Could have**.

But fate had had other plans in store.

"But I've changed Sam!" Scam tried to convince the woman he was losing more and more with every second.

Why was she allowing their bad past to get in the way of what could be a beautiful future? If only he could get her to see that. The law had forgiven him, why couldn't she?! She just had to try. Just _try_. Just once.

Mustering up his courage he walked around her and made her face him again as he gave her the most sincere smile he could offer while gently, very gently holding her elbows and pulling her to him.

It was his touch that finally pulled her out of her trance and she looked back at him incredulous, hardly believing he'd just put his hands on her without permission.

Immediately she growled and squirmed to get away from his grasp but then something from deep inside her stopped her and somehow she found herself calming down and just looking at him and the earnest smile on his lips while he spoke to her softly.

"I'm not that man you used to know once, _believe me_. Just give me chance," He begged setting aside his pride and ego for once in his life as he did so, as he poured his heart out to her and appealed for her to not shut him out just yet.

He knew he could make her so happy, fill her life with so much love that she wouldn't know what to do with it. He could give her the life of dreams and fantasies! The one that she deserved. The one that she and her daughter deserved.

"Please Sam?" He requested ever so patiently with so much longing in his words that it seemed almost impossible.

And in reaction, inside the confines of her chest Sam felt her heart which had become rusted and turned to stone for most of the world actually start to throb like a normal, unbroken, and undamaged one would.

For just one fleeting moment she felt like she was 19-year-old Sam again.

The brush of his manly fingers although slight on her arms spread such a blistering heat throughout her entire being as though giving her the kiss of life and resurrecting her from death.

Almost like a flicked switch, it activated something inside her that she'd assumed was long dead and gone.

And there was only one, just one name for it ...

_Desire._

Suddenly she gasped, breaking their connection and tore herself free of him as if he were a ticking time bomb that could explode at any second and take her life from her. She shook her head no both to him and herself as she kept moving herself backwards.

God it was happening again, just like that night when they'd made out! Why?! _Why_ was he doing this to her? She didn't want to get her hopes up again! She'd already learned her lesson about how dangerous that could be! She didn't want to be letdown again. Not again! _Never again_!

**"AND I'M SUPPOSED TO BLINDLY BELIEVE IN YOU?!" **

Her renewed outburst almost made Scam jump because he hadn't expected it.

He blinked, dazed and confused because he could swear that he'd just been making some progress with her.

But if that had ever been the case, it sure didn't seem like it now.

"Make that mistake **AGAIN**?" She roared. Do you think I'm an idiot?!" Sam barked, now bringing up their past, just their past and nothing else this time. "Your word counts for nothing Scam! In fact the fact that YOU are saying it? Heh, that actually makes it count for **LESS** than nothing!"

"But if you ignore that and keep shutting me out, how are you going to realize that I have changed?!" Scam fired back completely lost at the impossible situation she was putting him in.

"Just tell me that much Samantha," he asked sounding frustrated in a way that she'd never heard Tim Scam ever be as he waited for her answer.

Just five seconds of silence later she gave it to him despite knowing full well that it wasn't the one he was counting on getting from her.

"... Maybe I don't want to realize," she stated plainly. "Maybe it doesn't matter to me if you have changed Scam. Your life is wonderful now so go live it, maybe I don't want any part of you _regardless_."

His mouth parted and eyebrows rose at her cruel statement in the face of all he'd said and in that moment, it almost seemed as though he didn't even recognize her as the girl he'd once known so well.

That Samantha used to synonymous with hope, faith, and optimism but the woman before him now? She was just so bitter, so cold, so empty that he couldn't even begin to fathom what had made her this way.

Her verdict delivered, he felt his feet itch to walk away yet he stayed glued in place as though something was holding him captive to her. Something which he sensed was fate.

"But I believe there was a reason why we met that night," he blurted out before he could stop himself still unable to just erase this from his mind as mere coincidence instead of a sign from the universe.

They'd disappeared from each other's lives entirely years ago only to meet again now when they were both single and both able to belong to each other once more. What were the odds of that?!

"There was a reason that you opened up to me and why we shared that kiss."

_"Ugh! That stupid kiss!"_ Sam thought as it replayed in her mind like a movie scene and compelled her cheeks to redden in such a way that she couldn't hold Scam's gaze any longer.

When she looked at the floor he caught the shift in her composure instantly. She'd done this the last time he'd brought it up also, in fact whenever he reminded her of it she could not meet eyes with him and that alone said everything to him.

A woman often said more with her silence than she ever did with her words and Sam was doing that also even if she couldn't see it or was pretending to be blind despite seeing it.

So feeling bold he finally said exactly how he felt to her about them and their chance encounter of that fateful night.

"I believe that it was fate that brought you to my friend's restaurant that night. Fate that is pulling me towards you like a puppet on a string. Fate ... that wants us to be _together_."

Yet despite his moving words and blatant honesty, Sam remained callous.

"Fate?!" She scoffed, giving him the stink eye and a sneer. "Call it what it is Scam! Bad luck! Something that if you haven't noticed already—"

She waved a hand around dramatically, gesturing to the shabby interior of her pitiful living space which was likely tinier than the bathroom of his smallest mansion.

"That I tend to get hit with _a lot _nowadays."

"Sam," Scam tried again unwilling to give up even though she'd left him with no reason not to anymore.

But the hand she held up in his face like a stop sign finally halted him.

"Look ... " She muttered as she rubbed her temple with her other hand feeling a headache budding there as she picked up on the flood of the many faint_ ding ding ding _of text messages coming from instead her pocket no doubt from a concerned and curious Clover.

Scam had been here for at least a half hour and that was all the time she had to spare.

"You got what you wanted, I listened to what you had to say, and the answer is no. Can you just go now?!"

He couldn't help but feel hurt with how she was shooing him away as if not a single thing he'd said had made any impact on her even though every word he'd said had come straight form his heart.

Scam looked at her with pining eyes for a moment more only to have her just point at the door again and he signed feeling rejected in a way that he hadn't in a long time now.

Why? He thought as he slowly made his way towards the exit as was waiting for him to. Why did it have to be the _one girl_ that he'd realized he actually had true feelings for that had no interest in him?

It seemed that it was true then, wasn't it? The saying that in this life, you couldn't have everything. He had wealth, power, and fame but he couldn't have her love and he struggled to make peace with that disheartening reality as he turned to go.

But still he stopped in her doorway and made one, last ditch effort to get through to her.

"… You can try to pretend that it didn't happen but we both know that you kissed me back. Yes you were surprised at first when our lips met but that surprise lasted three seconds and what replaced it wasn't fear or disgust, it was passion. And when it ended and you slapped me, you pushed me away not because you didn't feel anything but because ... you _did_."

Sam didn't say anything for a while after that trying so hard not to let his words seep into the iron wall she'd built around herself.

It aggravated her when they left a dent regardless of her valiant efforts and trying to make up for that, to get the upper hand again she spat haughtily.

"If that's the spin you want to put on it then fine, I won't argue. I don't _care_ what you think Tim Scam! Now go and whatever you do, do _not _come back!"

The second those words sprang from her mouth she heard his footsteps charging back towards her in big steps. She felt him stop right behind her so close that she could detect the warmth of his hot breaths fleeting down her back.

With baited breath she waited to see what he would do next and unbeknownst to her, Scam stood there with his hand just inches from her shoulder. He got so close to grasping it, touching her again when suddenly he put his arm down back at his side.

It was no use.

Closing his eyes he bowed his head in defeat and frowned before he gave her what she'd asked for, turned, and left empty-handed without so much as another word.

Hearing the door open and close a moment later, Sam didn't turn around just yet as she stood there almost stunned that he'd actually gone away.

_"... He left?," _she thought to herself, slowly turning her head over her shoulder to check if he really had.

Finding her flat empty of anyone but herself in it, she slowly walked over to the door and opened it just in time to see Scam's Lamborghini Veneno Roadster reverse and drive off into the night.

When it was gone she tried her best to be relieved as she should be for finally having chased him away, but was unable to as once more the now familiar and terrible sense of abandonment consumed her.

"Of course he left ..." She laughed bitterly now, rubbing her arms up and down where his hands had been mere minutes ago but only a waning ghost of their presence lingered instead now upon her skin.

And she fought with herself not to cry but failed, a lone tear trickling down her cheek as she said to no one but herself in a lonely little whisper.

"... They _all _do."

* * *

At the rooftop of the glamorous Beverly Wilshire Hotel just steps from Rodeo Drive, Alexandra Hernandez silently sipped her fancy Apple Pie in the Sky cocktail.

The flavours of the Barefoot Bubbly Brut Cuvée, apple juice, honey, and cinnamon schnapps washed over her tongue as she stood amidst the excited buzz of Mandy Luxe's big party that had been held to celebrate the immense response given towards the preview of latest line.

She'd been a part of that success herself being her fabric developer and thus by default she'd been forced to come here despite not really caring to.

Yawning a little and stifling it into her drink, Alex felt the boredom that she now always did when being at any event like this. Living the life of a fashion celebrity she got invited often but that wasn't the reason why she didn't enjoy these gatherings.

She hadn't become desensitized to the glitz and glamour or of being among the who's who of the city, that was always a prestigious honour but she mostly came alone which left her with nothing much to do and no one to talk to unlike back when she used to frequent parties with her two bestest friends in the whole world, Clover and S—

She frowned, mentally slapping herself in disbelief for going there _again_. It had been years, _literal _years yet from time to time her mind would just unwittingly wander back to the past, the door of which had been dead bolted shut forever.

And for _good reason_.

Back in the day, who'd have ever thought that she'd be toasting Mandy's success instead of Sam's?

Knowing she had to go before her half drunk brain tortured her by making her think more of the girl she refused to acknowledge the existence of anymore, she checked to see if the coast was clear before trying to escape to the glass elevator that led downstairs.

She'd almost made it when she was stopped by the telltale, nasally voice of the party's very own hostess.

"Leaving so soon, Ally?"

Even though she knew Mandy was just trying to be friendly, Alex couldn't help but discreetly roll her eyes at her once again calling her with the nickname she'd picked out for her instead of the one she already had.

It was like Mandy thought they were BFFS or something and had given herself the right to give her a special name which she herself had never permitted her to and likely never would.

Alex turned and faced the sleek-haired woman who was on her husband's arm (Daniel Bates, the only son and heir of Chester Bates (2) of the famous "Power 4") dressed in a flashy black Jovani exclusive and with a speciality made, purple _Queen Mandy _cocktail held in her left hand that bore her enormous, blue diamond wedding ring.

"Danny dahlinnnnng!" Mandy drawled, making lovey dovey eyes at the tall, brown-haired, medium-built, light-skinned, blue-eyed man in the expensive Armani suit who smiled back at her within a second of her calling for him just like an exceptionally well-trained puppy dog would.

"Tell Allllllly not to go!"

"I'm sorry but it's late and I _really_ should be going," Alex interrupted shortly, not giving either of them a chance to stop her.

Offering them another congratulations for their accomplishment, she shook their hands in turn before moving to hit the button for the ground floor.

Only to be delayed again as Mandy sighed loudly no longer even bothering to hide her displeasure with her now.

"I wish we could be friends, Ally. Why do you hesitate?" She whined as she stared at her for some sort of explanation.

Alex always did this. She always ended their conversations before they began, gave back her extravagant gifts, said couldn't come along when she invited her for anything other than work things, basically pushed her away on all fronts and she didn't like it. Didn't like it one bit.

Alexandra was at her standard now, most useful to her and she wanted her in her personal circle instead of just as a business acquaintance as she was right now.

Alex shrugged, laughing a small laugh as she bought time to answer Mandy by playing with the strap of her silver Prada purse and then by tucking a loose lock of her curly hair behind her ear.

"I'm afraid I'm _too_ busy for friends right now. It's just my job keeps my sooo occupied that I rarely have time to leave the lab, you know?"

She smiled as she said that even though she knew it was a total lie. Her being occupied had nothing to do with it. Ever since the girl that she'd considered her blood sister had betrayed her, she'd lost all faith in that thing the world called friendship.

What was the point then of her making more friends? None.

Hearing Alex's lame excuse for turning her down yet again, Mandy nodded but inwardly glared because she could tell it wasn't genuine.

The real truth, even if Alex wouldn't say it with her own mouth was that she still, to this day retained a sense of loyalty towards Clover and more importantly towards _Sam_.

So of course she wouldn't befriend _her_, someone who'd played a pretty big part in destroying the redhead's pathetic little life, now would she?

But it didn't matter, she decided now smirking to herself evilly as she allowed Alex to leave for now even giving her a small wave as a polite goodbye. One day she'd get Alex completely on her side.

After all how long was her frail connection to Sam via Clover going to last? It had been half a decade since they'd fallen out and they would never again renew their friendship. Not after what had happened _back then_.

Clinking her glass with her husband's at that thought, Mandy grinned slyly as she went back to mingling with her affluent guests feeling like just like the winner she was so used to being.

She always got what she wanted. _Always__. _And Alex?

She was no exception.

* * *

When a knock sounded on her door a half hour later, Sam cautiously peeked through the blurry peephole before opening it.

She didn't fail to notice how her heart starting thumping hard, wondering if a certain man had returned to her despite the harsh lecture she'd given him that was still ringing in her own ears.

Lying to herself that it was merely doing so out of panic and not something ridiculous like anticipation, she leaned up on her tiptoes and glanced out at who had arrived:

It was Clover and her baby girl Josie.

Unlocking the door she let them in, immediately picking Josie up in her arms and cradling her close after having to delay seeing her tonight.

"Mommy missed you so much baby! So, so much!" She repeated over and over while rocking her up and down while the little girl was stunned at the level of her mommy's sorrow.

"What happened?!" Clover asked as she looked to Sam with wide, concerned eyes. To say that she was worried sick would be a massive understatement.

Sam never had ever asked her to keep Josie even a minute longer than earlier stated. She always complained how the many jobs she had to juggle already gave her so little time with her that something _major _had to have gone down tonight for her to make such a strange request.

But instead of giving her an answer Sam just shot her this look that said she'd tell her later as she continued hugging her little girl tight and doing nothing else.

Sealing her mouth Clover watched her to try and pick up a clue and solve the mystery for herself.

She couldn't help but notice that Sam seemed very shook up and she wondered why that was. Had she bumped into Mandy again? Or perhaps her own father, Shawn Simpson whom she hadn't seen or heard from in years just like Alex? Or maybe (hopefully not) Josie's dad?

There had to be a good reason for her frazzled state right now, but seeing that Sam wasn't in the mood to be interrogated she decided not to push her. She'd just bring it up later when Sam was more willing to talk about it.

At least she'd been able to get a step closer today to achieving the dream she'd imagined for Sam and Josie by introducing her little niece to Tim Scam, albeit on paper.

She smiled being content regardless because soon enough he'd enter Josie's life for real and she'd get to meet him in person.

All she had to do now was sit tight and be patient for all of Sam's misery, all of Sam's suffering and pain to at last come to an end.

And she had faith, unshakeable faith that Tim Scam would make it happen.

Soon.

Really, really _soon_.

* * *

"Another one please," Tim Scam grumbled gruffly, pushing his empty glass towards the bartender again as he sat slightly slumped over on a stool, brooding in his best friend's restaurant because he was far too depressed to go home and be alone just yet.

Receiving another order of his usual drink here he nodded an unsaid thank you, chugged down half of his refill of his sour whiskey on the rocks before turning in his seat to glance out at the clientele tonight just as he had that night when he'd run into Sam.

Only tonight he knew she wasn't there and he sought comfort in that fact because he hadn't returned to this place with the desire to rewind time and see her once more but rather ... to let her go.

After some deep thinking and soul searching, with a heavy heart he'd come to the epiphany that despite wanting to do so much more maybe that was all he could do for her now; just let her be as she'd demanded.

Perhaps their ship had long sailed and no matter how badly he wanted it ... a second chance with Samantha just_ wasn't _in his destiny.

Feeling thwarted by luck's hands he downed what was left of his drink in one long gulp as he tried so hard to wash away the reminders of the last few days.

But even while the details of them became murky with the copious amount of alcohol now in his system, despite all his efforts the actual moments still stubbornly stayed put.

So it seemed as much as he wanted to erase her Sam Simpson would continue to live in his mind and his heart at least a little while longer before he could summon the will to evict her once and for all just as she had him from her life.

Sighing and putting down his glass because he could drink no more, he rose to his feet and walked away after receiving word that his chauffeur was here to pick him up.

He could only hope that as time passed so would the memories, and with it would go the dreams that he'd foolishly begun to dream about her and himself.

* * *

"And they all lived ... happily ever after."

Sam read aloud the final line of the Cinderella storybook in her hands before closing it and smiled when she found her tiny princess fast asleep, little snores escaping her as she'd already entered the land of dreams where anything was possible.

Pulling up her blanket to her chin and kissing her small forehead, Sam put the book on the bedside table before getting up and tiptoeing away not to wake her little darling.

"Sleep well angel," she whispered turning out the light and slowly closing the door, only releasing the knob when it was fully shut so that it wouldn't make a sound to stir Josie just as she always carefully did every time she tucked her in.

And her smile widening on her lips she realized just then how normal everything seemed in this moment, how peaceful and undisturbed. It was almost as if Tim Scam hadn't even ever been here or anywhere near her and her life was just the same as it had been for years.

"_If only things could stay this way," _Sam thought. But only time would tell if she'd lost him for good this time or not.

Praying that she truly had, she left for the bathroom to prepare herself for bed never noticing the rustling sound that came from inside her daughter's bedroom just as soon as she'd walked away from it.

Josie opened one eye and strained her small ears, making sure her mommy was gone by counting her steps on her fingers, making sure she reached at least twenty before she sprung into action.

Clinging to the edge of her blanket she used it like a rope to climb back down onto the ground. When she landed she squinted in the dark to locate her knapsack and her emerald eyes lit up when she spotted it on the floor in a corner of her room.

Trying to stay as quiet as a mouse to not be caught, she crawled towards it and unzipped it extra slowly to prevent it from making its usual _**brrrrrrrrr**_ sound.

Reaching in she quickly grabbed something before crawling once more to her bed and repeating the process of scaling her blanket to safely make it back onto her mattress.

Now back in place she took a few quick breaths to recover from her little adventure before opening the coloring book she now held in her hands to reveal the photograph of the man hidden inside.

Her teeny fingertips delicately touched his face again, and she grinned a big, childish grin before doing something she'd never had the chance to do before in her life.

"... Night night daddy," she whispered as she brought the glossy image up to her face and planted a quick kiss on the picture version of his cheek in the moonlight, wishing her daddy goodnight wherever he was.

"Pwease come home soon," she pleaded to him, feeling like he could hear her even if he wasn't here because she was his baby and he was her daddy and they had a special bond, before gently putting him back inside her book, closing it, and hugging it to her chest one last time before she put it under her pillow.

She was just about to lay down to sleep when just then, a shooting star darted across her small window and she gasped knowing what she had to do.

Scrunching up her small nose, closing her eyes, and crossing her fingers on both hands she made a wish on it just like her mommy had taught her to.

_"Pwease God pwease ... bwing my daddy home soon!"_

* * *

(1) Reference to Season 3, Episode 11: "Dental? More Like Mental." Sam mentions donating a sweater to the Designer Clothes for the Needy Charity Drive.

(2) The "Power 4" appear in Season 4, Episode 14: "Evil Heiress Much?" I thought I'd pick a rich guy from the TS universe to be Mandy's husband's father.

So ... I feel like that was a **loaded **chapter.

Think there is any hope for Alex and Sam? Also Josie seems to have her heart set on Scam being her dad but her mom just turned him down flat.

Do you guys think that Sam truly does not have any feelings for Tim or is she just in denial? And does Scam mean his decision to not pursue Sam anymore or is he just upset right now?

Also would love to hear your first impressions on Mandy's husband _Daniel_. He'll be popping up more later!

Anyway! Thanks so much for reading and _**review please **_if possible? ^-^

_Love,_

_Cresenta!_


	8. Chapter 8

Hai!

Comp is not fixed yet but still alive! Time to pick up from where Sam crushed Scam's hopes and dreams lol.

Thanks **everyone** for your continued interest in this new story! The favs/follows/comments, it all motivates me so much to write more of this! ^-^

Disclaimer: STILL WAITING FOR THE DAY I OWN TS. SO. MUCH. _WAITING._

* * *

_**5 Days Later**_

Josie gasped in delight, her big emerald eyes lighting up with excitement when she saw the bug that had landed on a blade of grass right next to her foot.

Crouching down super slowly not to startle it and make it fly away, Josie took out the magnifying glass from her pocket that she'd borrowed from her kindergarten teacher Miss Cook and started to study it carefully.

This was a routine activity for her; she'd spend at least half of every recess looking at nature. As much as she enjoyed playing hopscotch, ball, tag, and other fun games with her friends there was nothing that she loved more than discovering something new and unknown.

Any day that she found a new creature or plant she'd never seen before, it made her heart swell up with glee. She remembered that her dear Auntie Clover told her that that had to mean she had a love of science just like her mommy did and that one day, if she kept up her quest for learning and worked really really hard, she may even grow up to be a famous sciencetist!

Closing one eye to focus better on the little critter she noted how it was a bright red color like a ripe tomato and had big black dots.

And she grinned immediately recognizing what it was because her mommy had told her about it before when they'd taken a walk one day and she'd seen one on the sidewalk, pointed to it all hyper, and asked what it was.

"It a wittle wadybug!" She exclaimed joyously.

Putting her magnifying glass away she took out the other items she had stashed in the pockets of her light pink bunny overalls: her nature journal which was a small booklet tied with string and made from white construction paper that had a bright yellow, 3-D bee on the cover (was it called origamimi?) that her mommy had helped her make and a pack of five color crayons.

"Yewwow, bwoo, gween, wed, bwack," she sorted through them and was delighted that she had the right colors to do this and would not have to substitute any like she sometimes had to.

Picking up the red one she drew a large circle in the center of the page and filled it in before using the black to draw a smaller oval at the top of it. When that was done she added two lines to the oval, trying her best to space them out right before adding six smaller dark dots on the big red circle.

Her sketch complete, she neatly scribbled the word "Wadybug" under it and smiled at the finished page. She could hardly wait to show her mommy and auntie her work when she got home. She was sure that they would love it!

"It totawwy posh, no?"

Josie cringed, her moment of bliss interrupted by the familiar and nasally voice of her arch nemesis Monique Luxe.

Slightly turning her head around she watched from the corner of her eye as she stood there in her expensive Versace Young leather jacket, black cotton dress with a pretty lace hem, and a matching beret on her head. Her pointy nose was turned up high while her hand was held out towards a group of girls (Caitie, Dominica, and Mindie) who were oohing and ahhing over a sparkly new bracelet she wore on her chubby wrist.

"Mummy got it fow my unbiwthday pwesent," she explained while slowly shifting her hand around left and right in the sun to let the golden rays hit the diamonds on it and make them shine even more than they already did. "It cost a bajillion and a hawf dowwars."

At just that moment Money's purple gaze drifted off the blonde, redhead, and raven-haired trio fawning over her jewellery and caught the stink-eye she was giving her. And immediately her lips curled into an evil grin that could give Cruella Deville's from 101 Dalmatians a run for its money.

"Poow people like Josieiiiie celebwate one biwthday," she continued with her eyes glued to her face. "But wich people like me get biwthdays evewy day."

Josie felt her fists bunch up at what she'd said and it took every fibre of her four-year-old being not to jump on her and pummel her black and blue for it.

But she had already gotten in trouble once for pulling Money's hair at the start of the school year when she'd made fun of her Photo Day outfit, one that had been stitched by hand by her mommy unlike the flashy brand name John Galliano dress Money had worn for the occasion.

Money had opened her mouth as wide as she could, cried, made a fuss and called her a bully. Her poor mommy had been called in to talk to her teacher because of it and later she'd gotten a big lecture at home about needing to learn how to control her temper. She did not want to go through that again so she did her best to keep her cool and just walk away not giving Money the temper tantrum she was clearly trying to get out of her.

She'd only taken one step however when Money called out from behind her back again tauntingly.

"Wanna tell us your big biwthday pwans, Pwincess Josiiiiie?" She mocked her with that pet name knowing that was what her mommy always called her even if she was no real life princess.

"Are you gonna have a big pawty? A yummy cake? New toys? Or is mommy just gonna make you another scwap dwess this year like aways? Oooh I just can't waiiiiit to see it! Hahahahahahaha!"

Hearing her snicker and snort like the little piglet she was, Josie felt her face turn purple from anger. Her body began to shake and she itched so badly to turn around and scream right into Money's dumb face that she was wrong.

This time was going to be different! She didn't know her big secret! Her deepest wish was going to be granted this year and then everything would be better! She just knew it!

But the pinkie promise she'd made to her Auntie Clover kept her lips sealed from saying anything. She was afraid if she broke her vow then God would punish her for it. She could even lose her daddy!

Yes it was impossibly difficult to stay silent about him after finding out almost a week ago but she'd waited so much longer, almost five whole years now for him. She didn't want to risk ruining this.

Not _now_.

Watching the three girls who had been drooling over Money's bangle earlier join in in pointing and laughing at her like she was some circus clown, Josie turned and ran as fast as her legs could take her away from them.

Escaping to the Alder tree she'd hidden her backpack behind at the start of recess she took cover there and sat down behind its thick trunk, pulling her knees up to her small chest and hiding her face in her lap as she did her best not to cry.

Feeling tears leaking from her eyes despite her best attempts, she reached into her bag and pulled out the colouring book that had her daddy's picture still placed inside it and pulled it out.

And the second her eyes fell on his handsome face she felt her sobs turn into sniffles and then start to fade away and soon she was smiling, feeling like she had to because he was working so hard to cheer her up with the warm smile that was on his own lips as he stared back at her.

"Daddy ..." Josie whispered as she raised her arm and used the sleeve of her shirt to swiftly wipe away her tears, not wanting them to fall on his photograph and ruin it.

After all this was all she had of him and she could not bear the thought of destroying it in any way.

"I'm not cwying daddy, honest!" She assured him, not wanting him to be sad at seeing his little girl weep like this. She knew it always hurt her mommy to see her upset so it had to hurt her daddy too.

"I'm bwave just like you," Josie said to him, smiling wider now.

She hadn't met her daddy yet but she'd already decided that he had to be brave. All the princes in all the stories were and her daddy was Prince Charming which meant he had to be the bravest one out of them all.

Suddenly she forgot all about Money's meanness and found herself focused on nothing other than her daddy once more, something she'd been doing a lot of ever since learning about his existence.

And she asked herself again what might he be like? Besides bravery, what other traits did he have?

Was he tall?

Was he strong?

Was he smart?

Did he have good table manners?

Imagining to herself about him she found herself doodling again but not bugs or flowers this time, instead covering the pages of her notebook with many drawings of her daddy as she tried to brainstorm just what he was really like.

This task kept her busy till the bell rang 20 minutes later telling her that recess time was over.

Sighing a little, Josie placed her crayons back into their cardboard box and shut it before slowly putting away her daddy's picture in her colouring book once more and shutting it also.

She hated having to hide him like this but she trusted her auntie Clover when she'd told her that her daddy was going to come see her real soon. And recalling that she had also said that he was her real daddy and not the fake one who had heartlessly left her and her mommy before she was even born, she just _knew_ he would not fail her.

Her daddy would not let her down.

Josie's spirits feeling high again she waited for Monique and her friends to leave the playground before she stood up and broke into a skip, bouncing her way back inside her school with a big, toothy, childish grin on her face as she hugged her colouring book close to her chest and her daddy along with it.

Not _again _...

* * *

Donna Hansen, the famously bewitching blonde heiress of the Hansen Hotel chain, a side venture of her father billionaire adventurer Thomas Hansen (1) smiled tipsily as she admired the glittering city lights in the darkness of just about 3 AM.

Her elbow was perched on the edge of the rolled down window and the wind tousled her long hair.

_"What a magnificent view," _she thought to herself but then became distracted by the real sight to see, the absurdly handsome man in black trench coat and fitted dark gray suit who was seated right next to her in the driver's seat driving her back home to her Château.

She smiled, unable to help but ogle at him from the corner of her blue gaze. His oceanic eyes were even more breathtaking in the dim lighting of the car's interior. It was hard to believe that it was just this morning that she'd been yelling at him over the phone saying that there was no way in hell that she would ever work with his company after the representative that had been sent to her had failed to impress her in any way.

In the face of her wrath he'd remained calm and asked her for a second chance to earn her partnership, to let him come meet her in person. Even when she'd said no, told him this was over and he'd missed his chance he hadn't given up. He'd shown up to her address just an hour later to convince her to change her mind.

She'd secretly been impressed by his relentlessness when her doorkeeper had told her who was here to see her but still had planned to shoo him away from her doorstep without letting him set so much as a foot inside.

But the second she'd opened her door and saw him standing there with a charming smile on his gorgeous face and a wrapped gift in his hand as a peace offering, she'd began to crumble. And now ...

"You know," she started speaking to him while twirling her golden locks between her fingers. "Before tonight I'd never thought I'd even consider signing your contract but now ..."

Donna trailed off looking at him in awe, mesmerized by the charm he possessed in spades and almost intimidated by it but intrigued most of all. She wasn't sure that she'd ever met anyone quite like him before.

"Tim Scam I swear," she reached over slightly poking his broad shoulder with the tip of her Iced Manicure index nail, the 10 carats of diamonds on it twinkling in the moonlight. "You could get _anyone_ to do anything you wanted them to."

"Could I now?" Tim chuckled not taking note of how Donna practically drooled at the sound of his baritone voice and licked her lips with visible hunger, simply being caught up in feeling glad that his taking this matter into his own hands instead of just letting it slip away had paid off.

Even if it had taken him taking an entire day out of his schedule, delaying all other engagements, and wining and dining her to do it.

He'd even gone the extra mile to bring out his prized Bugatti La Voiture Noire that he'd acquired just a month ago after falling in love with it at a private auto show, even paying a whopping $40 million dollars to its owner Ferdinand Piëch because he hadn't been willing to part with it at all until he'd offered him more than twice its original cost.

In the end it had been an excellent choice as the heiress had recognized it immediately in her driveway for there was only one like it in the world and had been more than eager to be seen traveling around town in it.

That had done wonders in opening the window of opportunity he'd been after; getting her to agree to spend some time with him, get to know him before she pulled out of the deal he wanted her to agree to.

The same that she had now signed and sat safe under lock and key in his briefcase in the backseat.

Reaching her abode he parked the car before turning towards her with a playful half smirk on his lips and half-lidded eyes.

"So if I said that I didn't want our day together to be over just yet and I wanted you to take me home with you ... would you do it Miss Hansen?" He whispered to her smoothly, slightly arching an eyebrow towards her mischievously in an implied challenge.

In reply she surprised him by silently unbuckling her seat belt, reaching over and unlocking the car doors before stepping out and walking around to his side.

She opened the door and reached down grabbing his wrist from where his hand still sat on the steering wheel and soon pulled him outside with her.

Then she tightened her grip on his hand by intertwining their fingers together and began to lead him inside while swaying her hips from side to side and whispering rather seductively to him that he'd just read her mind.

And Scam realized that she'd actually taken him seriously when he'd merely meant what he'd said as a harmless joke about the ability she believed him to have.

Sensing that he was in a pickle now he stopped following her, started lightly tugging his arm back from her, and began to urge for her to release him.

"Donna ... wait."

Turning to look at him with a raised eyebrow and the slightest of offended pouts on her red glossed lips because she was not used hearing no from any man before, Donna released his hand only to wrap both her arms around his waist tightly to stop him from running away from her like he was trying to.

"Why? Don't you want to Tim?" she asked pressing her ample curves into his body and burying her head in the warmth of his muscular chest, clearly bummed out as she peeked up at him from the circle of his embrace with a disappointed frown.

Knowing he had to play his cards right in order to not risk losing her interest again especially after how hard he'd worked to gain it in the first place, Scam stayed quiet for a few seconds choosing his next move with extreme care before he reached up and gently stroked her hair, gave her smirk, and drawled out coolly.

"What's the rush? We've only just met Miss Hansen. Now that we'll be working together there will be plenty more _opportunities_."

"That there will be," Donna replied buying his lie hook, line, and sinker and batting her smoky eyelids up at him flirtatiously. "I suppose the prospect of mixing pleasure into our business will make it all the more _enticing_."

Leaning up on the tiptoes of her silver stilettos she planted a drawn-out kiss on his face between his cheekbone and jaw line.

"Till a later opportunity then," Donna moaned contentedly seeming satisfied for now.

While she kissed him neither noticed the split second but unmistakable flash of a bright camera light as a picture of them was taken from behind a bush somewhere not so far away. Both far too desensitized to being spied on to be alarmed by it any longer due to the celebrity lives they'd led for years.

Finally she untangled herself from him but not without letting out a reluctant sigh first as she slowly walked away with a couple of small waves in his direction.

He waved back to every one and once she finally disappeared behind the gilded gates of her towering, 12,000-Square-Foot Greek Revival mansion, Scam dropped his arm and let out a long breath of relief from deep in his lungs.

Getting back inside his car he locked the doors and was in the process of starting up the vehicle for Darren's place to tell him he'd gotten the job done when he suddenly stopped, it hitting him just then like a pile of cement bricks what he'd just done.

_Again_.

Donna Hansen was unquestionably a ravishing beauty, on an equal socioeconomic footing as himself, and perfect to be by his side in every possible way. He was no less single that he had been five days ago but ever since that night, that unforgettable night when he'd bumped into a certain beautiful face from his past, somehow he felt like he was ... taken.

Scam groaned, messily running a hand back through his brown hair and then down his face in exasperation as he felt that feeling once more nagging away at him.

That he'd somehow betrayed Samantha Simpson by getting this close to Donna Hansen tonight even if it had been strictly for work purposes.

Almost as though she'd be waiting for him when he got home and opened the door. Tapping her foot impatiently in her slipper, arms crossed over her fuming chest in her nightgown, and with a frown on her pretty but weary face which would grow at seeing the hour he was returning back to her at.

And then she would immediately proceed to ask him how he could do this to her.

Express the typical disapproval and discontent that a wife, fiancée, or girlfriend would upon discovering her man to be spending way too much time, _any_ time with any other woman other than herself.

"I need to get a grip," he chastised himself knowing that wasn't the case and never would be. He was as free as a bird flying high in the open blue sky and as much as he wanted Sam to be the one to put him in the cage of her affections he knew it wasn't going to happen.

"She doesn't want you Tim," he tried reminding himself of the epic rant she'd given him screeching how badly she didn't but somehow still wasn't fully convinced by the memory of her shouts still ringing in his ears.

It was annoying how much his ego could still play games with him despite him believing he'd gotten it under check and matured throughout these past few years.

Deciding that he needed a drink and some sleep to get his brain back on track again he reversed his car and drove off towards Darren Evans' home intending to crash there tonight.

And maybe not being totally alone for once when his head hit the pillow would aid him in forgetting Sam in a way that he sadly, despite all tries, hadn't been able to so far.

* * *

Hearing a familiar knock in the form of three gentle knuckle raps followed by two louder ones on the front of door his villa, Darren pointed his remote at the TV and paused the Los Angeles Chargers football game rerun he'd been watching.

He'd been unable to catch the live event this afternoon due to being swamped all day at work filling in for his best friend.

Getting up from his comfy couch he ran a hand down his chest and stomach to smoothen out the wrinkles on his T-shirt and look more presentable as he made his way over and opened the door.

He wasn't surprised to see Tim standing there on his veranda who immediately smirked arrogantly and raised his hand up in his face in which he held a document that until just this morning had a blank dotted line at the bottom but now bore the signature of none other than the elusive Miss Donna Hansen.

"You know … I never _once_ doubted you," Darren proclaimed knowing full well that Tim Scam wasn't considered a big gun (more like a freaking cannon) in the industry for nothing as he patted his shoulder in a wordless well done and stepped back to let him inside with a big, proud grin on his face.

Scam smirked harder as he put the contract back inside his briefcase and set it down near the coffee table while he took off his coat and then suit jacket to make himself more comfortable, his long day at last over.

"By the way, you can call Roy and tell him he's off the hook for now," he instructed Darren who asked him if that meant that he was going to give Stephen Roy another shot at doing his job instead of just fire him like most bosses would for almost messing up this big of an assignment.

If he decided he wanted to sack him, seeing how just about everyone was dying to work for Tim he'd be able to find a replacement for the rep as easily as snapping his fingers.

But he had no such plans.

"Course I am," Tim shrugged with no hesitation. "It's my principle after all."

"How can I forget," Darren nodded knowing it was more than that. It was basically his life motto.

Tim believed that everyone, regardless of their situation deserved a second chance because five years ago he'd given himself one and it had done wonders for him.

To say that he admired the guy would be a massive understatement. When they'd met at that business conference held in Moscow two and a half years back, he would have had no way of knowing that the man who'd just delivered a moving speech about his self-run, start-up company which was making shockwaves in the business world was not so long ago a dangerous, and very much wanted felon.

His criminal record had been sealed shut and was inaccessible but Tim had never once kept the truth from him, instead confessing it with honesty.

He'd never been ashamed of his checkered past and unlike most who would use it as a reason to wallow in failure, he'd used his to rise from the ashes like a literal phoenix and find the success that most dreamt of but few achieved.

And he was so honoured to have become the best friend of such a remarkable man.

Fist bumping him to congratulate him again, Darren suddenly stopped dead, his eyes going wide when he noticed something else that Tim had also strolled into his place with that hadn't been there this morning when he'd seen him last.

"So I see a lipstick mark on your cheek," he stated, a sly smile slowly tugging at his mouth as he stared at the bright red print that had obviously come from a woman.

And he thought he knew exactly which one seeing he'd just spent the entire day with her.

"Can I assume that you got _a little _something more from Miss Hansen than just her signature on your contract?"

Tim broke into a short fit of amused chuckles at his words. "A lot _more_ than just a little if I'm honest," he admitted while using the back of his hand to rub off the lipstick he'd forgotten about due to fatigue and leaving Darren's jaw to fall off and almost hit his carpet.

"You stud!" He exclaimed when he'd recovered giving Tim another congratulatory slap on the back, this one a little harder than the last few had been.

Maybe he'd actually been wrong about Tim being torn up still about his cute redheaded mystery slapper of a week ago. It seemed that he'd already moved on from her onto much more _lush _pastures.

Eager to know more he went over to the kitchen and prepared their favourite drinks for

the both of them soon returning to the living room with a Gin and Tonic for himself and a Sour whiskey on the rocks for Tim.

"I want **all** the juicy details," he coaxed handing Tim his glass and grinning as he perched himself on the couch across from him to listen to what would hopefully be a good story.

Donna Hansen was one sexy woman and if his brother had landed her, he just needed to know how he'd done it.

"Tell me exactly how it all happened."

Scam didn't reply at first, choosing to drain half his drink before slowly relaying to Darren the events of the near 24 hours of his Friday that he'd spent with the blonde in question. How he'd taken her out on the town sightseeing, eating, dancing, among other things to entertain her.

When he finally got to the bit about him driving Donna home and Donna all but dragging him to her bedroom after the short yet frisky conversation they'd had in the car, Darren grew excited and egged him on.

"Oh my God!" He shouted with baited breath. "What happened next?!"

"I left," Tim stated bluntly, bursting his bubble and having to bite his own cheek right after to keep from laughing at the perplexed expression that covered every spec of Darren's face.

Never had he ever seen him look so damn cheated.

"Wha-**WHAT?!**" Darren almost barked, spitting out the mouthful of alcohol he'd been happily drinking just seconds prior as though it had suddenly turned into poison.

The choking sound that he made finally made Scam lose it and he chuckled while shaking his head to himself.

"Oh come on Dare, use your head. Had I gone down _that road _do you reallllly think I'd have come over here to see your face tonight?"

Tim quipped, smirking teasingly as he sipped his drink once more while glancing at Darren's face from time to time and laughing anew every time that he did because the sour look on it was solid gold.

"But what the hell man?! Dammit, why?!" Darren demanded to know, throwing his hands up in exasperation as he was unable to comprehend why Tim had rejected a desirable woman like Donna when she'd been readily throwing herself at him.

Only a fool turned down a woman who offered herself (2)! What on earth would make a guy as smart as Tim do something so downright ... stupid?

"Work," Scam deflected his true reason to shoot Donna down quickly, rising from his seat and stretching his tired body by rolling back his shoulders as he put his now empty glass on the table and let out a loud yawn.

"You know we have a busy day ahead that starts in exactly—"

He rubbed his blurry eyes with the tips of his thumb and index fingers before glancing at the dial of the expensive Swiss Vacheron Constantin watch on his wrist to check the time.

"5 hours. Had I given into Donna, I'd for sure miss the meeting we have scheduled with Lee and Johansson at 7:00 AM sharp and maybe even the promotional event we've got planned for Sarah Becker's new line at 12 PM."

"Ahhh sometimes I forget just how dedicated you are to your work Tim," Darren responded with a long sigh.

"Yea well, you don't get where I am without making sacrifices Dare," Scam winked, giving him sage advice before starting to mount the spiral staircase that led up to the spare room he normally slept in whenever he stayed over.

"Tim Scam, the Great White shark of the business world, multi-billionaire, and top on the list of America's very most sought-after bachelors turned into Romeo over a single mum of a four-year-old child. Who'd have thought?"

"..."

Scam froze dead on the spot, his foot almost missing the step he'd been halfway into taking and tripping as he heard Darren's voice from behind him.

He whipped around to find Darren standing there, arms crossed over his chest and giving him a knowing and all too smug look.

And he gave up slumping his shoulders with a defeated sigh. He should have known better than to think that Darren of all people would not be able to see right through him and know that citing work to not sleep with Donna was nothing more than a bold-faced lie.

"… A single mom of a four-year-old who hates my guts, probably hasn't thought of me once since that kiss, and definitely wouldn't give a single fuck if I _had _hooked up with Donna tonight," Scam corrected in a dejected little mumble before turning back around and slowly trudging up the stairs for bed.

* * *

Samantha hummed to herself being in a pleasant mood as she sat at her small wooden kitchen table sipping hot coffee for once because it was Saturday morning, the only day of the week she didn't have to run around on.

She smiled relishing the rare tranquility of the present moment. It was near total quiet in her flat, all she could hear were the sounds of cars passing by out in the street from time to time through the singular open window, occasional gusts of wind, the ins and outs of the rhythm of her own breathing, and her baby girl's adorable snores coming from the other room where she was snoozing because it was nap time.

All in all it was total opposite of the last Saturday where that date of the Friday night before and what had_ occurred _during it had weighed so heavily on her mind that no matter what she'd been doing to distract herself, she hadn't been able to find any peace.

Subconsciously she licked her glossed lips as a tingling heat crept along their crevices right then. And not one that came as the result of the steam of her hot drink but one from the steamy memory of another set of lips that had kissed them ever so passionately, so … _wonderfully_.

Kicking herself in the calf for having that sinful thought, stubbornly obstinate to keep pretending that this was the only instance where she'd somehow thought of _him _on accident at all since he'd paid her a visit this past Monday, Sam desperately sought a diversion to save herself.

Noticing that her pile of mail sitting on the edge of the counter top had gotten quite large during the rest of the week when she hadn't had the time to spare to look at it, she decided that now was the perfect time to catch up on that chore.

Going over and picking it up she also grabbed a butter knife from the knife block to use as a letter opener for any envelope seals she'd inevitably have to open before settling back at the table.

She sorted through the papers carefully, relieved to find out that none of them were unexpected bills just waiting to give her a heart attack and mostly just harmless pamphlets and flyers from local businesses trying their best to drum up business.

She was almost finished when she spotted the last item in the stack. It was a glossy newsprint volume and without even turning it around she knew it had to be a tabloid having taken Journalism 101 in her first and only year of completed university.

And one glance at the thin spine revealed that she was right; it was indeed a copy of the latest edition of The National Enquirer.

Sam rolled her green eyes feeling immediate disgust. This had to belong to one of her neighbours and had to have been accidentally delivered to her address as she sure as hell hadn't subscribed to it.

For one thing, she was much to broke to be wasting the hard-earned few dollars that she was able to on frivolous purchases like this and second, even if she _did _have the cash for it she would never want to buy gossipy trash like this.

Anyone with any sense knew that tabloids didn't care for integrity. They were rife with lies and ran on sensationalism instead of the truth. They were responsible for so much unnecessary drama and ruined lives. She would know wouldn't she?

After all hadn't a similar sort of thing caused her agony once? Rubbed salt on her bleeding and open wounds for all to see, albeit on a smaller scale thanks to the student newspaper of Malibu University which had been run while she'd been on campus by none other than the habitual bitch, Mandy Luxe?

It sure had.

Moving to chuck it into the garbage pail in the corner of the kitchen next to the mop and broom where it belonged, she picked it up and was just about to toss it when she suddenly halted having finally seen the front cover of the issue.

She did a double take when she thought she recognized one of the two people plastered across it and was compelled to pay closer attention all the while trying to figure out just who she knew that was even famous enough to be mentioned in such a paper.

And when she did, her eyes almost popped out of her sockets at the shocking image that had been captured in the dead of night that her brain was now struggling to process.

There in the photograph right before her very own eyes was a young woman dressed ultra scantily in a short silver dress that showed ample amounts of cleavage and a high slit that exposed almost all of her thigh. She had her slender but shapely arms draped around a very handsome man's neck and was pressed so tight to his tall and muscular body that her own might as well be leaving permanent dents into his.

But the worst and most disturbing aspect of the snapshot? It was the fact that she was actually _kissing_ him.

Kissing none other ... than **Tim Scam. **

"N-no way ..." Sam breathed out with her mouth unfastened all the way as she brought the magazine right up to her eyes and stared hard at it in disbelief.

"Th-this can't be real! It can't be!" She decided, blinking a few times and waiting for the face of the guy to change into one of some other rich one that this girl was getting so cosy with, literally any other one in the world but him.

But when his coppery skin stayed just as coppery as ever, his hair appeared in its typical style and roasted chestnut hue, and his telltale sea foam eyes remained exactly that stunning color no matter how many times she looked away and then looked back at that picture, sunkenly she knew that it was truly him.

She tried placating herself then that it had to be photo shopped or something meanwhile with every second that passed without her being unable to pick up any shoddy editing done to the picture whatsoever to prove that theory correct, her heartbeat escalated higher and higher until she could actually hear it banging away inside her ears like a warning bell.

And then she made the absolute worst mistake of reading the headline typed in big, bold, black, block font just above the scandalous picture of him and this girl:

**TIMOTHY DEREK SCAM CAUGHT TANGLING IN TANTALIZING TÊTE-À-TÊTE! BILLIONAIRE BACHELOR'S BACHELORDOM FINALLY TO COME TO AN END?**

Sam gasped loud as the tabloid slipped from her cold fingers and flapped down to the tiled floor in a chaotic heap.

And right then and there, nothing but biting jealousy replaced each and every drop of the blood coursing through her veins.

* * *

(1) Reference to Season 4, Episode 14: "Evil Heiress Much?" Decided to go with another rich character from the TS universe to be the OC heiress' father.

(2) I could not resist using a paraphrase of the quote from the anime Inuyasha here lol. It's from Episode 161: "Miroku's Past Mistake."

Well, well, well ... so much for Sammie not having _**any**_ interest in Tim. *cackles mwhahaha* I hope this sorta makes up for her insane denial in the last!

I know there wasn't any Clover in this chapter but I PROMISE there will be A LOT of her in the next one and maybe even some Alex, who knows?

I wonder if anyone caught that _little tidbit _about Mandy regarding Sam's painful past. Hmm ... Also thoughts on Josie versus Money?

Anyway! Thank you muchly for reading this and _**review please**_? ^-^

_Love always,_

_Cresenta ^_^_


	9. Chapter 9

Apologies for the delay on this update! Picking right up from a not so happy Samantha haha. xD

Thanks everyone for your favs/follows/reviews/and views! It is all a great boost to keep writing this and everything else that I am! Speaking of which, a _**Remember Me?**_ update should be next! :)

Disclaimer: _STILL_ WAITING FOR TS OWNERSHIP.

* * *

_"I don't care. I don't! I really, really, __**REALLY **__don't." _

Sam tried to placate herself while her whole body literally shook telling her otherwise.

Huffing she gathered up the tabloid off her kitchen floor before throwing it back down onto the table. She tried to walk away from it then to get on with her day only to somehow find it transported right back into her hands like magic.

She became irritated but before she knew it she'd flipped to the 5th page that the cover stated the full story and quote on quote "juicy details" could be found on.

She wasn't sure why but she held her breath as if she were nervous before she slowly started to read the words written there. Her emerald eyes skimmed the print left then right while she absorbed the information and sifted out key bits and pieces mumbling to herself under her breath as she did so.

"Donna Hansen ... daughter of billionaire Thomas Hansen ... new business venture ... partner Tim Scam ... both single ... attractive ... very much coveted ... would make a dream couple ... sparks could fly—"

She stopped right there having reached an important conclusion. An epiphany.

Speculation. That was all this was. Guesswork. An arrow, a dart shot in the dark just hoping to hit anywhere on the dartboard much like most stories found in sleazy publications such as this.

She found herself breathing out a long breath of relief from deep in her lungs while not bothering to ask herself why she was as a small smirk of triumph also tugged at her lips.

Hah! She'd known it all along! This _had_ been written by some reporter with no life whose literal job it was to stalk those who led much more interesting existences than his own; the rich and famous in hopes of landing a good story for his trash paper's equally trashy audience.

It was a no brainer that a super loaded, supposedly sexy heiress that thousands of people admired hooking up with an equally loaded, handsome and elusive billionaire would get tongues wagging and sell tons of issues.

But this—

She paused to glance at the name of the author mentioned under the article in red, capital letters.

—_Gordon Alberici of The National Enquirer_, had no evidence whatsoever that that was going to happen.

All he had was his outsider, onlooker view on what he thought he'd seen. And he'd decided to run with it salivating at the idea like a famished dog would after having found himself a nice, juicy bone when he'd been absolutely starving.

But that didn't make it the truth. Pfft, far from it. And if anyone was going to take this as gospel and believe that Tim Scam and this Donna Hansen woman were going to get married and make babies or something then they would have nothing but their own gullibility and stupidity to wallow in later when they realized how big of a sham this was.

Then again there was that one tiny thing that he had provided that much to her chagrin did grant just a modicum of validity to his story.

The full-page, color photograph of Tim and this girl looking to be getting hot and heavy while they were cloaked by the darkness of the night and believed themselves to be all alone with each other.

And once again she lost her nerve and with it out the window went her calm composure. Try as she might to ignore it, she just could not get over the physical proximity between them in that picture where Donna was as close to Scam as, as …

_She _had been to him _that_ night in that lonely alleyway that Scam had cornered her in while she'd been attempting to hightail it away from his best friend's restaurant in a taxi.

His buff arms had caged the sides of her slender body. His strong fingers had been interlocked with her own shaking ones while he'd pinned her hands back against the dirty bricks of the cold wall. The weight and musculature of his entire 6 foot 3 form had squished against her so snugly that there hadn't even been enough room for a fly to get in between them.

Even though she remembered vividly that she'd been angrily screaming for him to let her go and trying her best to twist herself free of him during that ordeal, her subconscious mind had registered some _things _that she also recalled.

How her heart had been pounding hard and fast all over her body at every pulse point in an excited frenzy. How her skin itself and every pore of it had felt as though it had spontaneously caught on fire and was burning up in his unrelenting embrace. How she'd felt an electric current humming in the air, a shower of hot sparks engulfing her due to that forced contact with Tim Scam in that dark, cramped space which had nearly forced their two bodies to almost become one right then and there.

A pout rose on her lips as she remained locked in her thoughts. Had Donna felt all that too last night with Tim while this snapshot had been taken of him and her? Had she felt that hypnotic, all-consuming lull of desire reeling her like she was a puppet on a string and he was her puppeteer? The way that he'd somehow made her feel when their lips had met? So much so that despite not wanting to, doing her best never to, she hadn't been able to get him off her mind ever since? Well ... _had he_?

A sudden knock at her front door made her jump a foot and a half in the air.

"Ah!" Sam screamed alarmed and in her startled state the paper did a funny little spinny dance between her jittering fingers before she firmly caught it again.

Holding a hand to her chest to calm it she caught her breath before quickly springing into action.

She glanced around the kitchen for a good spot to hide the tabloid before finally shoving it under the pile of now sorted out mail on the table. She took a moment to make sure it was sufficiently buried and then made her way over to the door to open it.

Glancing through the peephole she saw that it was Clover. This prompted her to take another few seconds to try and seem normal and put on a convincing poker face for fear that the blonde would suspect something was up with her if she didn't because she knew her that well. When she thought she was ready she finally unlocked the door to let her inside.

"**HEY CLOVER**!" Sam greeted but then had to bite her cheek hard not to visibly cringe at how abnormally perky she'd sounded at the cost of aiming to not be conspicuous. She'd tried much too hard to seem breezy and carefree, something which she almost never was being a single mum and all and she knew it would tip Clover off for sure.

Gulping a little down a now very dry throat Sam just stared at the woman in front of her without even daring to blink and hoped to high heaven that she hadn't caught on regardless of her bad acting.

For if Clover found out what she'd been doing, what she'd been _thinking_ before she'd arrived she'd for sure get ideas in her brain that she didn't want her to ever have regarding her and their annoyingly good-looking ex-con acquaintance from long ago.

Thankfully for her though, her best friend didn't seem to notice her out of characterness as she smiled her usual bright smile, sent a small wave her way, and said hey back before walking inside her small flat.

Clover took her purse off her arm to place it on the couch and then straightened out her waterfall cardigan floral embroidered top before asking her usual first default question to Sam just like she always did whenever she visited in person or talked to her on the phone.

"Sooo how's Josie?"

"Sleeping like the adorable angel she is," Sam replied, her thoughts finally steering away from Scam and back to those who were actually a part of her life with the mere mention of her daughter who was the bane of her otherwise miserable existence.

Smiling she informed Clover that she was currently napping but would be awake in around 15 minutes knowing full well that as much as Clover stopped by to see her nearly daily, she did so to see her baby niece more.

Because just as she was for her, Josie had become pretty much the center of Clover's world too ever since the day she was born. In fact if Clover had to go even one day without interacting with Josie she would frown about it until that day was over and the little one was in her presence once more. Meanwhile on the other end, Josie would stamp her feet, scream and cry, and throw her own temper tantrum to show how much she missed her beloved aunt.

Clover instantly smiled, her entire face lighting up at hearing this. But unbeknownst to Sam she was happy for a reason other than Josie being awake soon and getting to spend quality time with her.

The fact that she'd arrived in the nick of time while the kiddo was still snoozing meant that Sam would not be able to yell too loud right now. Something which was a blessing if what she wanted to say to her ended up ticking her off.

Which it honestly very likely would seeing its _sensitive_ subject manner that was a guarantee to ruffle Sam's feathers.

But she knew Sam would do almost anything not to disturb her precious princess while she remained in the world of dreams where everything was possible which made this the perfect little window of opportunity for her to take action and finally get the intel she so desperately needed from the redhead. Namely the answer to just one burning query that had been making her itch and twitch endlessly on end:

Had Tim Scam come to see her after she'd told him to _or not_?

For the last few days something in her gut had been warning her that something wasn't quite right, that something had gone amiss in her plans for Tim and her Sammie getting together, acknowledging and accepting their mutual attraction for one another, falling madly in love, and eventually becoming the power couple the whole country and one day the entire world (including Mandy's dumb face) would envy.

She'd been so urgent to find out that she'd even harked back to her spy days by snooping around Sam's place in her free time in various disguises including a gray trench coat, black fedora with matching gray stripe, and black Ray-Ban Wayfarer shades (1) from the back of her closet that she hadn't worn in years to aid in secretly keeping tabs on her.

Yet despite all her extreme efforts not_ once _had she caught even one measly glimpse of Scam on any instance. Not outside Sam's house. Not inside Sam's house. No-freaking-where!

And depressedly she'd started to wonder that which she didn't want to. Had he just decided to ignore her when she'd spoken to him that day? If she remembered right then Scam wasn't the best listener. He was a free man and didn't like to be told what to do so it was quite possible that he had just let her words about his needing to pursue her best friend go in one ear and out the other.

But at the same time she had seen the unmistakable flicker of temptation in his eyes the precise moment she'd proposed the idea for a future with Sam to him his office. She remembered the look on his face; it was like she'd been dangling a juicy steak in front of a starving man. She could tell that in spite of his words of denial saying no, he'd been more than eager to go for it.

And factoring in the raw passion and insane hunger that she'd witnessed him kiss Sam with on that restaurant surveillance footage from that date night that he'd shown her? There was just no denying how obvious his romantic feelings for Sammie were.

She had to admit that with all she'd seen and understood on those, honestly she'd half expected for him pound on Sam's door the very same day to be let inside her life where he belonged and for him to break down said door if Sam put up any kind of resistance to let him in.

But then what had gone south? Why wasn't he here right now by Sam's side where he was supposed to be? Where she'd anticipated finding him after their little, heart-to-heart chat?

Ugh she couldn't take all these questions anymore! By now this was all eating her alive! Seriously, she was starting to toss and turn and stay awake all night theorizing when and if the Sam/Scam ship (2) was going to set sail from its harbour already!

And night after night this brainstorming of hers had resulted in fatigue and eye bags which as the model that she was were both no bueno. So in short it was of utmost importance that she just _had_ to get to the bottom of things right this second!

Because the only way for her to get her life back on track was for Sam to get her life back on track with a life partner who could go the distance, be reliable and sturdy enough to share her heavy burdens with.

And that man _was_ Tim Scam. Only after he'd been secured as Sam's husband could she at long last stop worrying and feeling guilty about her.

Only at that point could she finally forgive herself for her part in Sam prematurely choosing the original guy that she had to try and build a future with. The one that had taken everything and more from her, gone through her life like a destructive tornado and left her absolutely devastated in his wake.

No matter how much Sam said she didn't blame her, she herself would never find peace until she cleared her conscience. The last five years were more than enough to tell her that much and she didn't want to spend her entire life kicking herself this way.

But how should she go about asking this? Clover tried to make her mind up as she followed behind Sam into the kitchen.

She sat down at the small round table and was handed a cup of hot coffee just a few moments later. Sam poured herself a refill also in the dirty cup that had already been there that she'd been using earlier before getting to work on some chores around the room, using her day off time wisely to multi-task while making small talk with her.

Sam's words faded in the background of her own thoughts while she went on auto-pilot mode. She sipped her drink, occasionally smiled, nodded her head, and said "mmhmm", all the while zoned out and immersed in deep thought.

How could she bring up Scam to Sam without giving herself away? She wasn't worried about Sam thinking she was involved when she discovered that he had her address and phone number whenever and if ever he did drop by or call her because she knew that Sam knew Scam just as well as she did.

Finding out where someone lived or what their contact number was would be considered child's play for the once criminal mastermind who with his infamous shady skill set, was capable of so much more. He wouldn't need anyone else's help to pull off something like that so she felt that she was totally safe on that front. Sam wouldn't think he had had an accomplice based on just that much.

But if Sam got wind of the fact that she was rooting and actively plotting behind her back to try and set her up with him? That she knew would land her in boiling hot water. Because as much of a sister that she knew Sam saw her as, she would just _kill her dead _if she found out that making Tim Scam become her man was her ultimate goal.

She only had to think back to the short conversation they'd had when Sam had come home from running into Scam and she'd dared ask her the trivial question about how he looked now after half a decade had gone by. When she'd answered it for herself because Sam hadn't with the assumption that he still looked hot, Sam had exploded.

_"I'm NOT having this conversation Clover. In fact I don't want to think about him or that stupid date. In fact I don't think I want to go on another date for a long, long, LONG time if ever again!" _

Sam's words rang in her ears and she felt a nervous goose bump roam down her spine. But regardless she still had to do this, consequences be damned.

She turned her head over her shoulder to find Sam behind her now busied with rearranging the things she had posted on her fridge. Memos and notes from Glassell Park Elementary School that Josie attended and pictures she'd drawn that she had on display. She removed the old ones, tucking them under her arm to store like the precious memories they were just as she'd kept all the others and replaced them with new things.

She was being such a mom right now, smiling to herself with visible pride as she took her time carefully looking at each and every one and putting them up with Josie's favourite, colourful, Disney-themed fridge magnets.

Yet even in this peaceful moment, amidst it all Clover could see a ticking time bomb just ready to go off. Sam wasn't making the connection but she could see that nearly all the recent artwork Josie had made featured one familiar face. It wasn't one from a movie, TV show, or book but rather of someone very, very real.

A man.

Clover's eyes peeled wide stared directly at the many cute, crayon doodles of a smiling, brown haired male with eyes consisting of a blend of blue and green to make a signature sea foam hue. And in it she saw the other reason that she had for so severely needing to find out where Tim Scam stood.

Josie.

Sam's little girl was already so attached to him, so much in love with him ... and for good reason. After all she'd been the one who'd planted that idea in her sweet innocent head like a seed that it was he who was her long missing, true, and much wanted daddy. And by now that thought had grown into a full fledged tree.

It had been nearly a week since she'd shown his face to Josie and while she'd kept her word and not breathed a word about him around her mommy, whenever they were alone now he was all that she ever talked about.

_"What my daddy's name auntie Clover?"_

_"Where my daddy?"_

_"Why doesn't he come home?"_

It was so easy to see that Josie so badly wanted to meet Scam. To get to know him. A lifeless photograph was not nearly enough to sate her. Josie wanted her dad in the flesh and present at all times. Wanted him living with her like every other dad of every other little girl in her kindergarten class did.

There when she woke up in the morning to greet her with a good morning pat on her small head and a tender ruffle of her bedhead hair and there when she went to bed at night to tuck her in under the blankets with a kiss on her tiny forehead and a bedtime story.

At her birthdays to wish her and help her blow out the candles on her cake, Halloween to take her trick-o-treating around the neighbourhood, Christmas to spoil her rotten with an ocean of presents ...

And most of all for Father's Day so that she could finally celebrate the 3rd Sunday in June which up until now was treated like any other day in the year and went by completely unobserved.

But she couldn't give her that, _any_ of that without Scam's cooperation. And that was something which she sadly had no idea if she even had or really ever would.

Clover breathed a sigh into her warm cup in concern unable to keep from worrying if she'd maybe jumped the gun with this. What if Scam wasn't ever on board and she'd messed up by thinking that he was?

If that was the case then that would simply crush Josie's little heart and she couldn't, just could _not _live with that. She had to find out of if was willing to do this and he just **HAD** to be!

Taking in a deep breath to prepare herself, Clover counted to ten backwards inside her head before finally breaking her long silence.

"So Sammie … did you ever run into Scam again at all after that night?"

Her words caused an immediate commotion as Sam choked on the coffee she'd paused to slurp.

The lukewarm liquid gargled in her throat as she coughed for oxygen like a fish removed from water for a long minute before managing to breathe again. She put her cup down shakily before looking back at her like a deer in headlights.

"Wh-what?" Sam spluttered out while using her sleeve to wipe off her mouth as she took deep breaths to recover her airflow while wondering why on earth Clover was bringing him up like this out of the blue.

Suddenly she felt panic jumping up and down inside her chest like a see-saw on a playground on a particularly windy day.

Oh God ... did Clover somehow _know_ that Scam had been on her mind? Why else would she have popped this question to her?

Oh god _she knew_, Sam felt her eyes bulge while her body started to squirm in a guilty manner as that terrifying thought settled in. Her secret was out. Clover knew. She knew! Oh god! Oh god! Oh god, she knew!

Incorrectly reading Sam's silent state of sheer hyperventilation as anger, Clover sweat-dropped before raising her hands up to defend herself as she explained her intentions quickly.

"I'm just curious you know? I mean he's not exactly the _leave you alone type_. I remember from back when we had to face him during WOOHP missions, every time we locked him up the man had escaped just like an hour later!"

Hearing Clover's practicable reasoning for saying Scam's name, Sam felt her tension fade away as her heartbeat quickly returned to a normal pace.

Clover didn't know anything. She was just worried about her safety because she was her best friend and if the shoe had been on the other foot she'd be doing the same thing. That was all there as to it. That was _all_.

Noticing the instant relaxed shift in Sam's mood, Clove bravely retouched on the subject.

"Sooo ... " She idly tapped the tips of her index fingers against each other over and over to look harmless. "It _was _just that once chance meeting right?"

Even though she knew the answer already, Sam didn't speak right away as she thought over Clover's question some more with her lips set in a thin line of concentration.

While she had truly expected there to be more of a chase from Tim Scam both based on the tenacious personality he was once rightfully reputed to have and the long and moving speech he'd given her about how fate had reunited them and that meant that they were meant to be together ... there just wasn't.

Once she'd told him she didn't want any part of him, he'd left without so much as even turning to look her way.

A small pout unconsciously formed on her lips, part of her unable to help but feel just a little let down at yet another man giving up on her without even breaking a sweat.

Then again that picture of him and Donna; maybe he'd never really been that into her in the first place. Even if to her ears it had felt like each and every word he'd said to her had come straight from his heart.

But when was she the expert on deciphering if there was truth or deception behind what came out of a man's mouth?_ Never. _

Brushing off that last part laden with the usual bitterness and self-loathing towards herself that she felt every day, she focused on Clover who was still patiently waiting to hear from her. Deciding to just be honest because this seemed to be over and dealt with, Sam told her that that hadn't been the only meeting after all.

"Actually ..." Sam confessed with a defeated sigh. "He came to see me after that. Somehow he tracked me down to my address."

"He was here?! Oh my God when?" Clover first shouted but then cleared her throat and lowered her tone remembering that Josie was sleeping nearby.

"… When?" She repeated barely above a whisper with her eyes glued onto Sam's face anxiously.

"Five days ago," Clover heard Sam say and immediately her face screwed up. This ... it didn't make any sense! If Scam had been here five whole days ago why hadn't Sam said anything to her about it until now? Until she'd prodded her to?

But she got her answer to that just as soon as Sam relayed to her just how that unexpected visit from him had gone. How he'd said to her that he wanted a chance to be with her because he was in love with her, how she'd declared him completely insane for doing so, and most of all, how much and how hard she'd degraded him for it.

"And life's been back to normal since," Sam informed her with shrug while Clover did her best not to look outright horrified at what she now knew.

It turned out that Scam hadn't been the one to spoil her plans. The person who had thwarted her was Sam. Scam had actually taken her advice and come to Sam pretty much right after she'd asked him to ... it was _Sam_ who had thrown him out.

"That's uh ... that's just great. I'm happy to hear that it's all um ... over Sammie," Clover slowly managed to breathe out with a fake grin plastered to her face all the while feeling like actually breaking down crying.

When Sam went to go wake up Josie just a moment later now that nap time was over, she allowed the groan of frustration that she'd been holding back to release itself as she mourned her spoiled hopes and dreams.

Why? She asked herself as she lowered her face and planted it into her crossed arms against the tabletop. Why? Why? **WHY** couldn't things just go smoothly for Sam for once? Just once in her life?!

Aggravated, Clover sat back up and ran her fingers through her blonde hair pulling at some of the strands to relieve some of her pent up disappointment.

That not being enough she next began to shuffle through the envelopes and papers on the table to take her mind off this long enough so that she could calm down before Sam brought Josie out.

It took her a few to regain control of herself but little by little she succeeded. And when she did she decided that it was okay. Everything was still alright. Sam may have thrown a rather unnecessary and annoying curveball her way but she had faith in Scam.

He had taken the pivotal first step had he not? A smile finally reformed on her lips at finally knowing at least that much. That meant he wanted this too. And when Scam wanted something, she knew that he wasn't one to let it go without a fight. Which proved that he wasn't going to scared away by Sammie's outburst even if she'd thought she had chased him away with it.

So really then, there was no need to despair. All was not last because she at least had him in her corner. She was 50% towards the finishing line and now just had to figure out the remaining half way to bridge the distance.

And she would, Clover grinned now feeling optimistic once more. Together with Scam's help, she most certainly would.

But when her gaze just so happened to land on the cover of the glossy magazine she had been absentmindedly opening and shutting while she'd been thinking, Clover stopped dead.

Picking it up she stared hard at the image of the unfamiliar woman and familiar man on it to make sure she wasn't hallucinating. But knew she wasn't just seconds later when the picture nor the incriminating headline that accompanied it changed in any way.

An outraged gasp left her and that was soon followed by a vociferous growl of rage. Her eyes became stormy and narrowed into thin slivers of utter shock and disgust as they remained fixed on what she could not believe she was seeing.

Her long manicured nails nearly tore gaping holes into the tabloid particularly where the picturized blonde slut's face was as her grip on it tightened and she frowned so deeply that her lips started to ache as she felt just one emotion invade all her senses with a crippling force that made her erupt like a volcano.

**Betrayal.**

Before she could stop herself Clover rose from the table. She walked into the living room to the couch and picked up her purse. Opening it she shoved the tabloid inside before shutting it again and making her way to the front door.

Leaving Sam's place in a huff she quickly hailed a cab. Once in the backseat she instructed for the driver to take her to an address in downtown L.A. that she had memorized.

Where she knew a certain man could be found who owed her some _fucking answers_.

* * *

Josie smiled to herself as she played on the grass on the small lawn outside her house.

On the wooden porch on the creaky steps sat a bored looking blonde teenager from a few houses up the neighbourhood. Once every five or ten minutes she would pause and look up to make sure she was okay before returning to her phone where she was busied with texting her boyfriend.

This wasn't her usual babysitter Becky Lavoie. When her mommy had called Becky because something had come up that she had to suddenly go take care of and her auntie Clover had left for some reason, she had said that unfortunately she couldn't make it today.

So her mommy had frantically asked around the block and luckily Mrs. Vargas' said that her daughter Tiffany was free and could watch her just as long as her mommy could get back soon to take her off her hands.

In return her mommy had thanked her profusely and promised to make her a dress as later payment for this favour before turning to her, bending down to be at her level, patting her head and apologizing a hundred times for having to take off on a Saturday. The only day they normally spent every minute of together unlike every other day of the week where she had to work long hours.

But she had smiled sweetly at her mama and said that it was okay and she really didn't mind. She knew that it had to be something weally weally important that her mommy had to deal with or else she would never go anyway.

And as much as she would have liked her auntie to be the one to take care of her when her mommy couldn't like she usually did, she understood also that just like her mommy, her auntie too must have something super duper important that she could not get out of doing. Why else would she have gone without saying anything about it to her first? She would never!

So like the good little girl that she was, she was content with waiting for her and her mommy to come back home as she happily passed the time by playing with her favourite blue, metallic, glitter ball.

She laughed as she dribbled it up and down with her hand while counting inside her head to see how many seconds she could keep it going without having the ball bounce away. She did that for a good while before her arm started to ache so she switched hands. When that one too got tired from the repetitive activity she decided on starting up a new game.

Putting the ball down on the ground she walked around the dirt to find something she could draw with. Locating a twig she could use, she picked it up only to pout because it had a blunt end. Putting it back down she stepped on it snapping it carefully under her shoe to not give her fingers any splinters her mommy would have to take out later.

Holding the stick up to her face she grinned when it now had a pointy end and she carried it back to where she'd left her ball. Bending down she drew herself a starting line in the mud. She did her best to make it as straight as possible and after two minutes of failed attempts she finally made one that was even enough.

Placing her ball on that line she started to kick it to see how far she could make it go. Her first kick made the ball skid a quarter of the way across the lawn.

Clapping her hands and giggling in amusement she raced over to pick it up and bring it back to same starting point before kicking it once more.

This time it got as far as halfway. She repeated the process but this time when she kicked it she wound her leg back as far as it could go in her skirt and kicked the ball with all her might.

With great force it took off like a speeding bullet and flew through the air. It hit the top of the picketed fence and ricocheted off it to land outside the perimeter of the lot and out onto the sidewalk. Then it slowed down but kept moving, rolling along until it trickled off the concrete path and ended up smack dab in the middle of the street.

_"Uh oh!" _Josie thought, her emerald eyes going wide from panic at seeing that her ball had gone in forbidden territory. She hadn't meant to kick it that hard!

Turning her small head over her shoulder she opened her mouth to ask Tiffany to please get her ball back for her.

But when she looked the lady wasn't there. The stairs were empty and the screen door was halfway open. She must have gone inside to get something or go to the bathroom.

Josie turned back to look into the street where her ball sat. Every time a car passed by it, her heart had a mini heart attack for fear that it would hit her toy. If she didn't get it soon, she knew it would be ruined.

She felt tears start to well up in her eyes at that thought. This was her favourite ball that her mommy had gotten for her as a special gift. She couldn't stand the idea of wrecking it. What was she going to do?!

Suddenly she got an idea and she stopped sobbing. What if ... she got it herself? Her mommy had told her to never step off the sidewalk into the street unless an adult was holding her finger but she needed to get her ball.

She chewed on her lower lip as she thought this over. She was a very fast little girl. Her friends always said that she was as quick as a bunny. So if she was really, really speedy then there was no reason why she couldn't do it.

She looked towards the porch one last time to see if Tiffany had returned so she would not have to do this but when she didn't see her she made her decision. She was going to get her ball.

Walking across the lawn she put a palm up against the fence and pushed on it but it didn't open. The fence was locked but she remembered that its latch was not a particularly strong one. She'd seen her mommy simply lift it open plenty of times.

Knowing what she had to do to, Josie leaned up on her tippy-toes and put both her hands on the fence. Then she began hitting it over and over making sure to use the entire weight of her body. Soon enough the latch gave way and the fence simply swung open for her.

A happy gasp of delight leaving her she put herself back down on her feet fully before walking out of past the fence and making her way to the edge of the sidewalk.

When she got there she stopped and made sure to look at both sides of the street just like her mommy and auntie always did whenever they crossed one. Seeing that the coast was clear she took in a deep breath before counting to three.

"One."

"Two."

"Three!"

With that she broke off into a mad dash and just two minutes later she was close enough to her ball to reach down and grab it.

But the digits of her tiny fingers had just barely brushed the surface of the polished plastic when she felt the ground rumble as a strong gust of wind came front just ahead. Then the sound of tires screeching loudly could be heard and Josie looked up in alarm just as a big, white, Bugatti Veyron came into view.

Her mouth dropped open, her eyes flew wide, and she dropped her ball with a scared gasp when she realized the car was now just a few inches from her.

And then she screamed at the top of her lungs as everything turned to black.

* * *

(1) Reference to Season 2, Episode 22: "Matchmaker". Clover wears this disguise while investigating Eugene Snit undercover and it always makes me laugh how "sleuth" it is haha.

(2) Sneaky little nod to us Sam/Scam shippers. I could not resist lol.

Okay so ... scary ending. I wonder who is in that car? _Any guesses? _

I'm actually REALLY curious to hear what **you**** thought** about Clover and Sam's talk and ofc what's going to happen to poor Josie! :(

But also Scam ... when Clover gets through with him lol.

More to come and till next time!

_Love always,_

_Cresenta's Lark! :)_


	10. Chapter 10

*she returns with another chapter*

Hello guys! ^-^

Thanks **everyone **for your continual interest in this story! I want to first start by saying a BIG sorry for that ultra mean cliff-hanger haha. xD And now to continue!

Disclaimer: I_ DREAMT _TS BECAME MINE ... DOES THAT COUNT?

* * *

Pang.

Pang. Pang. **Pang!**

There it was again ... That nagging _feeling_ in her gut.

Standing alone at the empty bus stop, Sam bit the inside of her cheek hard as an inexplicable current of panic kept crashing at the shores of her mind and disturbing it. She had no idea why but suddenly her stomach was in tangled knots and her intuition kept telling her that something was wrong.

And the more she thought about it, the more pale she became because the last time she remembered having had a feeling like this one, she'd turned around at the cash register after putting down her shopping items on the checkout counter at the Value Village Thrift Shop she'd been shopping at to find Josie gone.

_"Josie?!" _She'd screamed in terror. _**"JOSIE!" **_She'd cried out while running around the place like a madwoman, searching every nook and cranny for her baby girl with no care at all for the scene she was making nor at how the other customers were staring at her as she shuddered and cried messy and ugly tears.

All the while she'd been cursing at herself for being such a bad parent, for looking away from her child for even a second and letting this situation unfold while her brain made up the worst possible scenarios for what had happened to her Josie.

That she'd gotten seriously hurt and was laying unconscious bleeding out somewhere and that was why she couldn't hear her many frightened calls for her. That she'd somehow managed to leave the premises of the store undetected, wandered out onto the street and was now totally lost with no idea how to get back to her. That someone had abducted her and she was in that creep's car right now kicking and screaming for her mommy while he just cackled at her and easily kept her captive.

After a half hour had passed with no sight of Josie and her soul had almost left her body, finally her nightmare had ended when a store employee who'd been hanging new dresses up on a circular rack spotted a small child with red hair just like her own curled up under it who appeared to have fallen asleep there and called her over to inquire if this was her missing Josie.

Relieved she'd scooped her up in her arms and shook her head yes over and over until it almost fell off that this was her kid, her adrenaline still in overdrive as she'd struggled to accept that it was all over and Josie was safe and sound, a process that had taken an entire hour.

But why was she getting that feeling _now_? Her maternal instincts blared and she went into mama bear mode as she finally realized what the source of her anxiety had to be. Oh god … something had to have gone wrong with Josie!

Reaching into her jacket pocket she rummaged for her phone, deciding the best course of action was to just call home, ask if everything was okay, and ease her mind. But her heart sank when she was greeted with nothing but a half consumed pack of strawberry gum, a bent, misshapen bobby pin, and lastly her wallet. Her phone was missing and that could only mean one thing. In the rush that she had left her place in to run her emergency errand, she must have forgotten to bring it with her.

_"Ugh I knew it! I knew I shouldn't have left her with Tiffany Vargas!"_ Sam kicked the pavement to release some of her pent up nervousness as she belatedly recalled how irresponsible the teenager who acted like her phone was one of her actual limbs and not something she could just put down could be.

What if she had been busy texting or playing on some dumb app and Josie had gotten into some trouble while she was preoccupied? It _was _a likely scenario. Looking up at the sky in a forlorn manner she asked why? Why did Josie's usual baby sitter, the one that she was comfortable with and Clover whom she trusted most with her daughter both have to be unavailable at the exact same time?

But no answer besides the muted sounds of the universe once again laughing at her pathetic little existence came to her. All she knew was that if something happened to Josie then she'd never forgive herself. She just had to get back to her! Now! Before it was too late!

Sam strained her neck as much as she could to see all the way down the street into the direction where the bus should be arriving from any minute now. But once again it just wasn't there. She then glanced at the bus schedule posted on the side of the shelter before looking at her wrist at her leather watch which was beat-up but always gave the correct time:

_12:45 pm_

And she realized that it hadn't just been her imagination but the bus was in fact running super late. According to the timetable, it should have been here like fifteen minutes ago! Where was it?! There wasn't even much traffic right now that it could be stuck in a jam and the weather was bright and sunny so that could not be slowing it down either!

The only logical explanation was that her rotten luck had made it break down somewhere and there was a delay at the station in sending out another bus to cover its route.

Great, Sam thought frowning deeply and distressedly. Just freaking _ GREAT_.

Frustrated she began contemplating running home. Thankfully she was in a pair of sneakers and not heels right now although she was quite far and would not reach her flat for at least forty-five minutes. And that was taking into account even if she sprinted as fast as she could.

Also what if she left and _then_ the bus finally came? What would she do then? She highly doubted the driver would stop if she flailed her arms and screamed at them to in the middle of the street. No he'd just keep driving onward leaving her behind in the dust.

Sadly she realized that as hard as it was, she had no choice but to stay put, pray that it would come soon, and wait.

* * *

**"O-OH MY GOD! A-ARE YOU OKAY THERE?!"**

It was the concerned and very much worried voice of an unknown woman that made her finally feel safe to move again. From where she lay crumpled up into a compact ball in the middle of the street twitching from fear, Josie slowly, very slowly began to open her emerald eyes.

When the darkness of her sealed vision began to fade as the curtains of her eyelashes lifted. she was surprised to find that the car had stopped in the nick of time before hitting her. And the one who was asking her if she was alright sat inside it staring at her with her head sticking out of the rolled down window from behind a pair of big sunglasses with a look of downright panic all over her face.

Next to her there was a man that wore a brig hat and was dressed in a fancy uniform of some kind who had his hands clinging to the steering wheel, his knuckles white as he looked equally spooked at accident that had almost occurred at his hands.

"I-I'm f-f-fine," Josie managed to squeak out as she stood herself back up on her feet with her knees wobbling still and her voice a little sore from how loudly she'd screamed just now.

But all she could feel in terms of pain apart from the inevitable scritch scratches a fall on asphalt would cause was that her bum hurt a little from landing on it with force and she seemed to have a visible, long cut on one of her knees. When she looked at it she found there was a squiggly white line all across the cap where the skin had been torn, the boo boo hurt but thankfully it wasn't bleeding too much.

Now assured that she really was okay she spoke a little more coherently. "I'm okay maam! Thank you!" Josie respectfully addressed the lady the way her mommy had taught her to talk to girls that were older than her.

But the lady in the car didn't seem convinced as just a moment after, she watched her open the car door and exit the vehicle. Stepping out on her rose gold high heels the woman made her way around the car over to where she stood.

As she approached Josie wondered if she should run away. Her mommy had warned her to never talk to strangers and carefully outlined to her what signs to look for in an adult to decide if they were acting suspiciousus (was that what she'd called it?) and to scream loud for help and do her best to get away if they were.

Yet for some reason this woman just ... didn't scare her. Oddly the closer she came to her, the safer she felt. As protected as she did when she was with her beloved Auntie Clover, like she was family and she couldn't solve the mystery why.

Even while she told herself she should ignore this bizarre feeling and probably just run, her house was so close that it wouldn't take much effort to get away, her feet wouldn't cooperate and move with her. Instead she found herself just taking this mysterious woman in as she pondered her carefully with widened and fascinated eyes.

She was slender, of medium height, and had caramel coloured skin that shimmered under the warm rays of the sun. Her hair was ebony black, curly, and set in a trendy asymmetrical bob. She wore a fashionable ensemble. A mid-thigh, sequined pencil skirt that matched her shoes paired with a black, long sleeved, cut-out crop top. Sparkling stud earrings were on her ears, a diamond watch adorning her wrist, and on her face she still wore sunglasses that she could now see the details of. They were dramatic and round with black tinting and rhinestone detailing around the rims.

Josie couldn't help but gasp a little in awe. Who was she? She was so pretty that she could be a movie star!

Unbeknownst to Josie while she was studying the lady, the lady was studying her back with equally if not more stunned eyes.

In disbelief, Alexandra Hernandez couldn't bring herself to look away from the small child before her. When she'd stepped out of her car she'd done so just to inspect the girl and make sure she really didn't really any need medical help before she continued on her journey. She was headed to the airport for her flight to New York where she was expected as the chief guest speaker at Vogue's Forces of Fashion Conference.

But this kid now held all her attention because she just looked _so _familiar. Her tiny face appeared to be a perfect replica of one she'd tried so hard to but never had once forgotten in all these years. Namely _Samantha Katherine Simpson's _face.

Her jaw dropping open, Alex reached up and slowly took off her glasses. Holding them in her hand she bent down to be at the child's level as she examined her more closely. And there was simply no denying it; she **was** a splitting image of her ex best friend.

She had Sam's ivory skin. Sam's small button-like nose. Sam's pouty mouth. Sam's bright green eyes!

It was like she was literally looking at a live version of the video of baby Sam that she'd seen a lifetime ago back when she used to be a secret spy agent for The World Organization of Human Protection on that mission where she'd first met Jerry Lewis' evil twin brother, Terrence Lewis. (1)

But how could that be? If this kid was actually Sam then would she not know who she was? Sure she'd changed physically over the last five years but not enough that she of all people would not be able to identify her.

And even though she had always forced Clover to say next to nothing about the redhead whenever they spoke by threatening to end the call if she ever did, she still knew that Sam had quit WOOHP just months after she had. So this couldn't be Sam suffering the effects of some wacky new WOOHP gadget or some villain's twisted scheme. This was someone else entirely. But _who_?

She was still caught up in that confusing conundrum when the child startled her by screaming in palpable distress.

**"HEY! WHERE MY BALL GO?!" **

Alex watched as the little one looked left then right to locate this absent ball of hers. And when after a few attempts of doing that and being unable to find it, her lower lip started to quiver and she proceeded to sniffle sadly.

"M-my fawoite ball ..." She mumbled between heartbroken little sobs, raising her small hands to try and wipe away her tears but they kept falling down her chubby cheeks endlessly. Even with how hard she'd worked to save it from being destroyed, it seemed all her attempts had been in vain after all. Her ball was lost forever.

"I-I lost my favwoite ball! My m-mommy's gave it to me for a special pwesent and now it gone! It gone!"

Blinking sadly Alex couldn't help but frown. For some reason that she couldn't understand, seeing this kid upset broke her heart into pieces almost like it was her own daughter that didn't even exist yet who was miserable. And she couldn't just back away and leave her like this. She had to do something to cheer her up first.

Turning to her driver Luke Raymond who was now standing next to the car with his arms crossed over his chest patiently waiting for her to get back in it, she instructed him to go find the ball.

"But Madam!" He protested lifting up the fabric of his navy sleeve and glancing at his watch which was telling them they were now running way past late for their appointment. "We have to go now or it'll be too late—"

"It certainly **WILL** be too late for you to save your employment _Mr. Raymond_ if you don't do exactly as I ask," Alex stated coldly while giving the mid forties man a warning look to not try her patience because she didn't give empty threats.

It had been many years since she'd last been the soft, weak, and often childish girl she was once known as being. The one that no one ever really took seriously because of her personality. In comparison the Alexandra she was today was a force to be reckoned with , one who didn't waste time thinking twice about other people's_ feelings _before taking action.

She could and would fire him right then and there on the spot if he dared ignore her further. A fact Luke seem to readily accept as he said not a single word more, gulped, and swiftly ran off down the street to find the missing toy as fast as he could.

Once he was gone Alex spoke to the child again who had stopped crying now that she had some hope of getting her cherished ball back, had wiped away her tears, and was just staring at her with her big innocent eyes.

"Is that your house?" She asked the girl attempting to get some clues on her identity as she pointed at the small and ratty looking flat directly across the sidewalk from where she stood.

Josie's eyes moved to glance at the home that was indeed her own but her lips remained sealed as she wondered if she should tell the truth or not. Her mommy's caution to not talk to unknown people once again came to mind but once again so did the feeling that this lady, whoever she was, was not truly a stranger to her.

And suddenly she knew exactly why she kept feeling that way. With her face now fully visible she could see that she had brown eyes in the shade of beautiful amber.

Josie's eyes lit up in glee and her mouth opened to let out an excited gasp. That was it! That was where she'd seen her! She recognized her from her mommy's favourite TV show! She was her Auntie Alex, wasn't she? She'd finally come to meet her!

But she stopped short from calling out her name, sobbing in joy, running right into her arms and hugging her because she wasn't one hundred percent sure. As much as she resembled the lady that she'd seen on the screen, she could be wrong about this. Her eyes could be playing tricks on her. After all she'd only seen her Auntie Alex for a brief moment and that had been over a week ago. She didn't want to become embarrassed if she assumed she was her missing auntie and then the lady had to correct her that no she wasn't.

And even if she was correct and she was indeed Auntie Alexandra, she remembered how her mommy had told her that while once upon a time they were like real sisters Auntie Alex ... no longer liked her. She hadn't gone into any detail why but she hadn't needed her to for as long as she could remember, in her small head she'd always believed that anyone who didn't like her mommy was a mean and rotten person. But this woman seemed way too nice to be mean or rotten in any way.

Deciding there was no harm in answering her even if she was a stranger because she'd been kind enough to check on her wellbeing and have her friend go look for her ball, Josie nodded her head to confirm that that was where she resided.

Watching the little one bob her head in a yes, Alex bit her lip now much less confident that she was related to Sam after all. Even if she'd been slacking off in college when she'd left the campus, it was hard for her to believe that Sam, a girl with so much potential would ever end up in a situation bad enough to wind up living in a shack like this one.

Or perhaps that was just because even if she'd done her so very wrong, as pathetic as it was a part of her still cared about her and deep down wished her nothing but well. Even if they were far apart and no longer friends, still wanted her to have ended up at least okay. Secretly hoped for her to have somehow seen the light on her own, dumped the loser that was setting her on a path straight for ruination and moved past him to achieve her goal of an illustrious career and eventually had settled down with a loving, wonderful, and handsome husband as she'd always dreamt of doing.

She was pulled out her private thoughts when she heard the kid say the word "babysitter" and in her peripheral vision she spotted a smiling teenager emerge from the house of this little girl. In her hand she held a cell phone which she finally dropped along with her grin the second she noticed that the child she should have been watching like a hawk wasn't on the lawn where she'd last seen her.

"Oh my god! Josie! Josie, where are you?!" She freaked out, having a total meltdown until Alex rolled her eyes, grabbed the child's hand in her own, and carefully walked her back up to the porch where she should have been all along.

"Looking for someone?" She asked sarcastically and immediately the teen cried out in extreme relief before picking up the kid and cradling her close to her chest while whispering "thank god, thank god, thank god" a hundred times.

"You know the biggest mistake a babysitter can make while on the job is getting distracted right? Especially when they're being trusted to take care of such a small child?" Alex lectured knowing this little girl couldn't be any older than four years old and never should have been left unsupervised for even a minute. This babysitter seriously should have known better.

"She almost came under the wheels of my car while you took your _little_ break," Alex stated sternly with her hands placed on her hips as she watched the teen's blue eyes grow wide and a look of pure horror cross her features at learning what had almost happened while she'd stepped inside for what she'd thought had just been a moment but had clearly been much longer.

It was a good thing that Luke was an experienced driver who knew to keep his eyes on the road but someone else may not have noticed the little kid and stopped in time. This whole incident could have very well ended in tragedy all thanks to this teenager's lack of thought. She had half a mind to stay put and complain about her to this girl's mother whenever she got back home but soon enough her driver returned with a blue ball in his hands and she knew it was time for her to go.

Handing the toy to the child she watched her eyes shine like the sun itself at getting back her beloved belonging. She let out a childish giggle, grinned, and hugged the ball close to her small chest.

Alex smiled watching her with tender almost motherly eyes, deciding that whoever this kiddo was she sure was a cutie pie.

"Miss Hernandez we_ have _to go," She heard Luke insist. Nodding her head she put her glasses back on and started to leave. But each step she took away from the child was a reluctant one and for some reason just as she was about to reach the porch stairs she turned around, walked back, and found herself speaking to her again.

"Promise me that you won't play out in the street again, okay? Sure your ball is really precious …"

Alex commented remembering how she'd mentioned that her mother had purchased it for her as a special gift on some occasion.

But nothing was worth risking one's life for and that was a lesson this one hadn't been on this Earth long enough to learn just yet.

"But not more than **you** are."

Her words made the miniature redhead smile and she nodded her head even asking for her hand and pinkie promising to her that she would never ever do that from now on.

With one last pat and an affectionate ruffle of her hair, Alex finally followed her driver back to her car to resume her journey to the Los Angeles International Airport.

Josie watched the lady with peeled eyes as she went and raised her tiny hand, making sure to wave her goodbye. A gesture that the lady smiled cheerfully and returned before pulling up her car window all the way and disappearing behind it as the car took off into the distance.

"Let's get you inside. I think that's enough outdoor adventure for one day," Josie heard her babysitter say as she carried her inside while asking her if she wanted to have some fruit punch with the sandwiches they'd be having for lunch or would just prefer a glass of milk.

"Punch pwease," Josie replied as Tiffany put her down on the couch and told her she'd be right back with the food, some disinfectant for her injuries, and an ice pack for her knee.

When she walked into the kitchen and she was left alone, Josie's thoughts went right back to the nameless lady she'd met today and a small smile formed on her face.

She never _had_ ended up finding out if she was truly her Auntie Alex or not but she just wished for one thing with all her heart.

That whenever she did get to meet her for real that she would be just as nice and sweet as this woman was.

* * *

"Do you know how big of a deal this is?!" Mr. Shawn Simpson excitedly said to his wife, beaming proudly all the while.

He just couldn't stop talking about his niece's huge accomplishment ever since he'd found out. This was going to be something that their family that prized success over everything, would be talking about for years to come.

Teresa Simpson had graduated with the highest GPA in Stanford University's history and that too while taking all AP classes, being the captain of the school's Volleyball team, and doing extensive charity work with underprivileged children. She'd finally arrived back home to her family after her flight yesterday afternoon and today was the day for them all to get together and celebrate her extraordinary feat.

And that big party to toast her success was exactly where they were headed to right now.

"I tell yea, Don's one lucky devil to have a daughter like her," Shawn grinned from, ear to ear, his voice full of nothing but envy for his younger brother whose daughter Teresa was.

Sitting in the back seat of her husband's silver Porsche, Gabby nodded along to everything he said with a smile on her lips. But if he was really paying attention to her, he would have long noticed how strained it was.

It wasn't that she wasn't proud of Teresa or something, she was her aunt after all and her achievement was proof of how hard the girl had worked to pull this of. She gave her massive props for that. But at times like this she just really missed ... her Sammie.

A touch of habitual sorrow flickered in her emerald gaze as she once again thought about Shawn and her own daughter. The one he once used to be just as proud of as he was of Teresa right now, in fact so much more but now ... hated.

Sure she'd too been disappointed in Sam for what she'd shockingly gone and done but she couldn't lie that her heart hadn't stopped in her chest from grief when Shawn had announced the punishment for it that he had decided on for her.

And ever since that cursed day she hadn't seen her child. But unlike Shawn who was able to pretend that Samantha didn't exist anymore, she had a mother's heart and could not bring herself to act like her Sammie, the same baby she'd carried in her womb for 9 whole months and raised with all her love and devotion was now simply dead.

So she'd fought with him viciously, but despite all her attempts she hadn't been able to get him to overturn his verdict.

Every time she tried to bring Sam up he'd shut down the conversation. He'd leave the room pretending to have a phone call he needed to reply to, say he wasn't feeling well and needed to lay down for a bit, go on a long drive, etcetera.

Still she'd kept trying, kept pushing him to the point where Shawn had gotten so fed up that he'd forbidden even the mere mention of Sam's name by threatening to go as far as taking his own life if she dared to anymore.

_"Do you want to stand with your daughter or see your husband alive Gabriella?! Which one is it going to be?!"_

It was only that which had made her finally stop raising the topic. With a heavy heart she'd accepted that he wasn't going to change his stance on this.

But even though she'd opted to hold her tongue, she still thought of Sam often in private. Thought of her every single day of her life. Prayed for her every Sunday that she went to church and wished her goodnight every single night before she closed her eyes.

A depressed sigh left her that Gabby hid with a fake cough to keep it from her husband. Oh how she longed to know where her Sammie lived so she could secretly drop by every once in a while just to steal glimpses of her.

She wouldn't even cross the line that Shawn had drawn for her and the rest of the family in regards to Sam. She just wanted to _see _her again. Just _once_. She just wanted to make sure she was okay. That her _granddaughter _was okay.

She still remembered the day she'd been born. She'd been bubbling with joy and had just been running outside to hop into one of their cars to drive to the hospital only to be stopped by a glaring Shawn. He'd made her swear once again on his life that she would not set foot in the hospital, harshly reminding her again that they had no relation left with the new mother or her new baby.

She'd swallowed her tears and went back inside doing as he'd asked her to maintain the peace between them, but later that day she'd hidden in a remote corner of their mansion and contacted Stella Ewing, a woman that Shawn no longer approved of her friendship with because in his eyes she had failed to stop her daughter from sheltering his daughter and actively supporting her wrongdoing.

Yet she herself remained tremendously grateful to Stella for not stopping Clover from being by Sam's side when the whole world was against her. As a result of this, her and Stella's bond had grown much stronger while her friendship with Carmen had taken a drastically different turn.

Carmen no longer really interacted with her after the drama that had gone down between Alex and Sam but that was just another casualty of this entire mess of which there were to many to even begin to summarize.

Over the phone Stella had informed her that once she was discharged, Sam was going to be staying at Clover's apartment while she recovered from the pregnancy for as long as she felt like until she felt ready to move out.

So after making up some excuse to leave their home, she'd gone there instead and had managed in catching just one look of her infant granddaughter as she was being taken inside in her mother's arms. She'd been wrapped up in a pink hospital blanket but she'd still been able to see enough of her to declare that she was the most darling baby girl ever imaginable.

She'd wanted so badly to make her presence known, to hold her, play with her, find out what her name was going to be. But staying out too long would have aroused suspicion with Shawn so she'd turned back just being grateful with the knowledge that her daughter had delivered a healthy baby, that she was grandmother and would one day hopefully be able to shower all her love on that grandchild of hers.

But now after four years and counting for that time to arrive, she was quickly losing faith that that time would ever come.

Suddenly Gabby sat bolt upright in her seat as a strange feeling spread through her. She didn't know why but she felt like her Sammie was somewhere nearby. And not just in her thoughts this time.

Confused her eyes peered out of one of the car windows and then the other. And when she looked out of the one on her right she gasped as she spotted her.

There at a bus shelter ... stood Sam.

Gabby risked messing up her makeup as she rubbed her eyes several times before looking at the young woman again. But even while she appeared to have lost some weight, looked extremely fatigued, and cut the long, wavy, flowing locks she'd had since she'd been a child, Gabby knew from the second she'd set eyes on her that this was truly her Samantha.

A grin of pure joy bursting on her lips, Gabby soon flew into action. Reaching out she tapped Shawn on his shoulder a few times while screaming in a hyper frenzy. "Shawn! Shawn stop the car! Stop the car!"

"What's wrong?!" Shawn asked slowing down without taking his eyes off the road as he wondered why his wife wanted to stop all of a sudden in this random spot of all places.

But when he turned his head over his shoulder to speak with her, he stopped dead at the reflection of the girl he saw in his side-view mirror. His face turned to stone while his eyes grew dark with anger at this unwanted run-in with someone he was determined to leave strictly in the past.

Putting his foot on the accelerator again he moved to speed up while muttering to Gabby that they'd been through this a million and a half times already. If they ever ran into _her _they would not acknowledge it.

"Shawn please!" Gabby begged him desperately now tugging at the strap of his seat belt as she watched Sam pacing at the bus stop slightly pulling at her hair, a nervous habit she recognized of her little girl's as she appeared visibly stressed out over something. There had to be somewhere she needed to get to and the bus clearly wasn't arriving for that in time.

"I'm not asking you to forgive her!" She tried to reason with him. "She's clearly in need of a lift so please just give her one! That's all I ask!"

"She's a _stranger _Gabby," Shawn now hissed, losing his cool fast as he tried his best to peel out of this area as fast as his car could go.

But Gabby would not let him as she kept arguing with him to let Sam into their car.

"You would stop for a stranger in distress and you know it!" She protested remembering how many times he would in a heartbeat and now glaring a little bit at how much of a bonehead he was being.

When he ignored her with a small huff, she decided to take a different approach and use some reverse psychology on him which always was his weakness.

"Shawn, if you don't give her a ride then I'll have to assume that all these years you've been lying to me. I'll have no choice but to think that you never _once_ forgot that you have a daughter named **Samantha**."

Her biting remark hit bull's-eye and the car's tires came to an immediate screeching halt right after.

Breathing hard Shawn frowned deeply at the dilemma before him. If he didn't let Sam in now he'd be proving Gabby right that he did see her as something other than a stranger. Because if that was not the case then he'd have no grudge against her like he clearly did.

But on the other hand, Samantha was dead to him and letting her anywhere close to him after long burying his memories of her was the last thing he wanted to do.

Feeling his wife's penetrating gaze aimed right at him like a laser beam, he finally relented even though he was no fool. He knew just what she was up to. Her asking him to do this was not merely about being cordial and offering a troubled young lady a ride. Instead she thought if she could just get them in close quarters again then he would melt.

But just like her, he too was stubborn and was not going to let this get to him as she was misguidedly optimistic that it would.

"… You can have what you want but this doesn't _change _anything," Shawn growled firmly to make it crystal clear to Gabby as he opened the car door for Sam and waited for her to get in.

Watching the door of the luxury car that had stopped at the bus stop for some reason swing wide open for her, Sam was considering if she should damn the consequences and get into it with a stranger because she was desperate to get home to her daughter right now and was even willing to risk her own life to make it so when she went slack.

Her mouth parted and eyes tripled in size when she saw that the one who'd pulled over to give her a lift in her time of need was not some random stranger but her own ... father.

A thousand questions hit her like a tidal wave as her heart almost leapt out of her chest:

What did this mean?!

Was he ready to let go of the past?!

Had he missed her as much as she had missed him? So much that she couldn't even put it into words?!

But most of all … had he finally and at long last found it within himself to _forgive her_?

But the loud honking of his car horn, the not so subtle whisper under his breath of him having somewhere to be and that she was holding him up by not getting inside the car along with the irritated frown on his face brought her crashing right back down to reality.

For whatever reason it seemed that her dad just wanted to give her a ride and that was the extent of this gesture. And when she saw her mother peeking out at her from the backseat nodding at her encouragingly, she realized that even this much had not been his choice.

Bottling up the tidal wave of letdown she felt, Sam quickly got into the backseat next to her mother and very quietly provided the address where she needed to be taken to. With no further discussion the car started up and they were off.

She sat there with her head down staring at the holes in the denim of her worn-out jeans in the wordless company of her parents who were decked up to the nines as usual; her mom in an elegant dress and her dad in a classic suit. They looked every bit like they belonged to the well-off Simpson clan unlike herself who looked like a homeless person in comparison, giving her just another slap in the face that she was no longer one of their own.

Feeling the loud silence inside the vehicle choking her like a heavy fog, as much as she tried not to go there all she could think of was the time when she _did_ used to belong. Of the many instances they'd gone on road trips together in this exact car (that she remembered was her father's most favourite one) while eating, laughing, talking, and enjoying each other's company.

Being a happy trio, a perfect family once. Something that no one would think they ever had been if they were to look at them now.

Beside her Gabby glanced Sam's way every few seconds when she wasn't looking. She had so much she wanted to ask, wanted to say to her that staying quiet was absolute torture. But whenever she got up the nerve to actually speak she caught the death glare screaming no that Shawn shot her in the rear-view mirror and she kept her mouth zipped.

Having noticed her mother peeking at her from her peripheral and feeling a small misplaced ray of hope from even that small action, Sam lifted her head to smile at her only to stop and feel like utter gutter trash when she noticed that unlike her mom ... her dad wasn't even looking at her.

He was acting just as though he was a driver doing a favour, taking an unknown passenger from point A to B and that was that.

It took everything she had in her to not start crying as it frankly did feel like she'd actually gotten into a car with a total stranger in the driver's seat that she'd never met before and not her own dad. Not the man who'd once been her very first, her very _best _friend. Despite all the wounds she'd received throughout her years, her father's refusal to even spare a single glance her way cut her deeper than any knife had and ever would.

And her pain, dejection, and misery reached past the tipping point when he stopped the car just outside her neighbourhood and unlocked the door for her to exit his car. He never said why he'd done so but knowing him as well as she did, she instinctively knew his reason.

It was because he didn't want to be seen or associated with her in any way. He didn't want anyone here to find out that he … was her dad.

Depressedly she got the answer to her most burning question right then. After all this time, after all these years he was still disgusted and disappointed in her. The pride that he'd one felt at calling her his daughter—

When he used to stand up, clap, and cheer the words _that's my girl!_ in the auditorium when she performed at her school's annual talent shows and won first place, would grin and give her a high-five then take her out for ice cream as a treat upon seeing the straight A results of her report cards, never once tired of telling everyone he talked to, his business partners, neighbours, strangers on the street alike about her once endless accomplishments.

—Appeared to be something that was lost forever. Sadly the passage of time had not aided in recovering that whatsoever. And it became evident to her that as much as she wanted him to, he would never, _ever_ forgive her for her mistake.

"Th-thank you ..." Sam whispered having to bite her lip to make it quiver less, trying her best to get the words out without losing her composure.

Stepping outside of the car she managed to hold herself together but only until she closed the door behind her. The second she turned her back, her heartbroken tears fell free from her bleeding eyes as she walked away without looking back in her parents' direction.

Watching Sam go with dismayed eyes, Gabby could not help from asking her husband a solemn question.

"… Don't you miss her Shawn? Don't you miss our daughter _at all_?"

Even asking that question seemed so strange to her for to this day she remembered how difficult it had been for them to conceive a baby, a task that had taken over five years into their marriage and how overjoyed he'd been when baby Sam had arrived into the world and had finally given him the long coveted title of being a father.

Just for a fleeting moment she saw it plain as day on his face. Her answer, a trace of strong and unmistakable emotion, of fatherly affection and open longing for his daughter. But soon enough he concealed it behind a frown as he uttered back to her harshly.

"Yes Gabby, I miss our daughter. _My_ daughter. I miss her more than I can say. Miss her with every single second of every single day. But that girl?" He pointed out of the car door at Sam's retreating figure as his frown grew deeper, unforgotten pain taking over him once more as he shook his head in adamant denial.

"SHE is not** MY **daughter."

"But Shaw—"

He held up a hand to halt Gabby, refusing to do this any longer than he'd already been compelled to today. She had to understand that this case was long closed. The shame, the disappointment, the sheer heartbreak that he had experienced at Sam's hands was something that he just could not get over.

Not back when his wound was fresh. Not at the present nearly five years later. Never in a million years.

Because what happened back then ... was _unforgivable._

* * *

(1) Reference to Season 3, Episode 24: "Evil Promotion Much?". The flashback video of a toddler Sam using the string from the back of her doll to get herself a cookie out of a jar and munch it down is possibly the cutest TS moment ever.

So, I thought it was about time I introduce Sam's mom and dad in here as they are alluded to in the summary and have a big role to play. As you can see, there's some majorrrrr problems there :(

Also Alex met Josie! Yay! ... Sort of anyway haha. xD

I know Scam has not been around much in the last chapter or this one (boo! lol) BUT I promise he's going to be back in the next one where Clover and him will have ... let's just say an **interesting **_chat_.

Till next time!

_Love,_

_Cresenta's Lark! :D_


	11. Chapter 11

Update tiiiiiiiiiiiiiime!

Sorry for the huge delay, I got a bout of food poisoning and then hit with a **massive** writer's block (still working through that, please bear with me x_x) so that pushed back a lot of things.

Anyway! I know you've been waiting for a full reveal of **Sam's past **and now we've FINALLY made it to the chapter that starts to unravel that! I hope you enjoy! :)

**Disclaimer:** Totally Spies is not mine. Yadda yadda. Blah. Blah. Blah.

* * *

"Is she okay? Is she really okay? It's not infected right? There is no danger of tetanus or anything?"

A very worried Samantha asked with panic all over her face as she stood in the doctor's office next to Josie who sat on the examination table.

She frowned sadly as she looked at the small, but still easy to see in the yellow lighting patch of slightly reddish skin that had formed around the cut on her daughter's knee. The same she'd given Tiffany Vargas a verbal lashing for that she would not soon forget. Allowing her precious baby girl to get injured while in her care was an unforgivable crime.

She remembered almost falling faint when she came through the door of her small flat to find Josie seated on the couch with an ice pack pressed to her leg. After hastily asking what had happened, she'd pushed the teen to shed tears and run out crying once she'd found out about her carelessness.

She'd then inspected the wound herself despite Josie's many protests that she was just fine. She'd shushed her and looked anyway, her heart breaking all the while as she asked Josie over and over if she was in pain.

"_No momma," _she'd promised that she really wasn't, but she couldn't accept that because to her any mark on her baby no matter how tiny felt like someone had carved out her heart from her chest cavity, tossed it to the ground, and stomped all over it.

She'd hugged her tight as she'd carried her to the bathroom. There she'd carefully washed her nick with mild soap and water before patting it dry with the softest cotton towel she owned. Next she'd dabbed a cotton ball with some rubbing alcohol and got to disinfecting, blowing on her knee as she did so to make it sting less. Finally she'd applied some ointment and a fresh bandage before picking up the phone and begging Josie's paediatrician for an appointment.

The logical part of her knew that wasn't necessary for a minor injury resulting from a fall; kids fell all the time and it was just a normal part of growing up. But the mom in her had not been consoled by such rational thoughts because she was too busy hyperventilating. She'd felt like her Josie had been hit by a truck and needed urgent care ASAP.

Thankfully the doctor had had a cancellation and could see her right away. So off she'd went, still in the clothes she'd worn to run her errand, without sitting down, without even grabbing a snack to sate her rumbling tummy, straight to the clinic to put her worries to rest.

Dr. Lydia Schwartz smiled to herself at the sight of the young mother before her whose fear and concern over her kid could be felt in spades. Over the last nearly five years, she'd dropped by enough times that she'd easily lost count of her visits. Yet she'd never forgotten the very first one where she'd run inside crying and shaking as she held an infant Josie who was fussing and squalling.

_"Please doctor! Save my baby!"_ Sam had begged while a flood of salty tears had poured down her cheeks ceaselessly. _"I can't get her to stop hiccupping! I don't think she's breathing properly! I-I don't know what happened to her! I dunno what's wrong!"_ Had come a medley of garbled statements, her voice broken with her sobs all the while.

Luckily it had turned out that little Josie had just swallowed some air and needed to be burped. With a few gentle taps on her back the burp came and the baby had returned to normal within minutes unlike her mom who had taken a half hour to calm down after her near nervous breakdown.

As she'd watched her gulp down the water she'd poured for her in a paper cup she hadn't been able to keep from noticing how young she was; barely an adult herself but already such a devoted mother.

And from that first meeting she'd come to the conclusion that she was the kind of super devoted parent who fretted over everything their child faced.

A cough, a fever even one degree over the normal 98.6°F reading, so much as a _single_ sneeze and she wouldn't be able to ignore it. She'd become restless and she'd come ask for help right away.

It wasn't that she didn't know other parents that cared deeply for their children; most all of her patients had wonderful moms and dads but something about Samantha Simpson made her admire her just a little bit more than the rest of them.

Maybe that she was on her own doing the most difficult job in the world, being a mom with very little help from anyone else.

And while she was no optometrist, she could still see with 20/20 vision that to this particular mother, her baby was her absolute heart and soul.

Not wanting to see her despair any longer, Lydia shook her head to report to her that Josie was negative for any serious consequences from this tumble she'd taken. The smile on her face widened as Samantha let out a huge sigh of relief while scooping up Josie in her arms and thanking her profusely.

"It's no problem at all. Take care now," she said ready to move onto her next patient but stopping to hand Josie a cherry flavoured lollipop first that she recalled was the one she always reached her chubby little hand towards whenever she got to pick one from the candy box.

Josie gasped in delight as she took it from her, unwrapping it immediately to pop into her mouth.

"Chewwy! My fawoite!" She screamed in excitement with a childish grin spread all over her face meanwhile her mother's seemed to pale a little as she seemed to think of something else that she wanted to ask about Josie's health.

"Um I've been meaning to ask ... " Sam said as she readjusted Josie on her hip so that she was more comfortable as she sucked away contentedly at her hard candy treat. "Is it normal for her to not be able to pronounce certain letters still? Like R?"

She asked specifically, having picked up a while ago that she tended to substitute that sound with a w in its place. Calling a rabbit a wabbit. Saying tommowo instead of tomorrow and so on. She was about to turn five really soon and by now she'd expected her to have dropped that habit.

Wondering if Josie needed speech therapy or something, Sam's brow pinched itself in concern only to relax when the doctor once again shook her head no.

"It's perfectly fine. The R sound is actually one of the sounds that children learn to say last. Sometimes not until six years of age. Don't worry, she'll get the hang of it soon enough. If you want to help speed things along though—"

She trailed off as she walked over to a cabinet in the corner of the room and opened a drawer. Pulling out a laminated sheet of paper filled with rows of raindrop doodles for a total of thirty, she held it out towards her.

"Practice saying the word raindrop with her. Don't move onto the next one until she says it properly. Try it out for a few weeks and I'm positive she'll improve."

Sam nodded her head placing Josie down on the floor on her own two feet as she took the exercise sheet and placed it inside her shoulder bag for later.

Now having dealt with everything she needed to here she thanked the doctor for her guidance, waited for Josie to wave her goodbye in the adorable way she always did before taking her hand in her own and leaving the office to get on with the rest of her day.

She had quite the chore list to tackle still on her day off and it would be all the more challenging while having to simultaneously watch Josie. Sure she could try calling her babysitter again to see if she was free now but with the events of today, she could not find it in herself to leave Josie in anyone else's care right now but her own or Clover's.

Carefully crossing after looking both ways she made her way to the bus station and checked the schedule to see when it would be showing up. A fifteen minute wait was what it told her, it appeared she'd just missed the last one. Sure enough when she took a glance down the street she was greeted with the tail end of a public bus in the distance.

Sighing she went and sat down on the small bench inside the booth, glad to find it empty as she began the countdown of a half of a half hour till their transport arrived.

While Josie sat next to her waving her feet in the air and giggling in childish joy at how hers didn't touch the floor like her own did because she was far too tiny for it, Sam smiled enjoying her innocent cuteness for a moment before finding herself thinking about Clover.

She wasn't sure where she'd run off to and she hadn't even received a text from her since which was kind of odd. Clover always made sure to keep in touch so she couldn't help but worry over her not keeping with that habit this time. She just wished that everything was okay with her and that she'd come back to them soon.

And with that wish, one more came. The very same that often tormented her whenever she was given a rare moment to reflect on her hectic life:

The desire for her to have a partner to share her burdens with.

As much as she wanted to scoff at the idea that she needed a man and pretend she was rocking the independent woman thing, lie that she had everything under control and was excelling at being a mother all by herself ... deep in her heart she knew she had many failings.

And many of those could easily be solved if she just had someone else to do this with besides her sole best friend whom she relied on way too much and honestly did have a life of her own to live even if she sometimes was too busy being a total sweetheart and being there for her every chance she could to notice that.

But that wasn't supposed to be Clover's job and it wasn't fair to her for it to be. No that was a job for Josie's father.

Sam automatically frowned as his memory stuck a sharp dagger inside her again. Of a man who'd never once wanted to make any kind of serious commitment to her, ever be her husband or Josie's father.

The one who'd never really cared for her as she'd been warned by Alex only for her voice to fall on deaf ears because she was too busy drowning it out under _his_ words promising to her so many times that he truly did. That he loved her. Loved her so much and wanted to build a life with her.

In retrospect she knew all his words to her were empty, all beautiful threads used to spin the master web he'd trapped her in and kept her captive until he'd finished getting his fill of what he'd desired out of her.

All he'd wanted was to have some _fun_. Have it with _her_. And once he was done, he'd left her behind in the dust to pay the price for _his_ brief entertainment.

A heavy price that she was still paying ... to this day.

* * *

Emerging from the glass elevators Clover moved with purpose. Turning into the long corridor adorned with glistening chandeliers and polished black floor tiles that she recalled led to Scam's office, she stomped along in the same faded jeans, pink t-shirt, and unflattering sneakers she'd worn to Sam's place.

She hadn't even bothered dressing up this time because she could care less right now about sticking out like a sore thumb amongst the sharply dressed men in smart pressed suits and women in heels and flawless makeup occupying every floor of this paramount building.

She was ticked off enough to no longer care about her appearance and that alone conveyed just how totally ticked off she was.

Reaching the end of the hall just minutes later she pushed the double doors open and let herself in. Not seeing any security personnel around, she was just about to make a beeline to the final door that led to him when she was stopped by a voice she'd heard just once before.

"Oh hello there _Miss Bisset_!"

Her head spun around to find Scam's secretary, Lila Lopez looking right at her from her spot in her cubicle.

But the look on her face was not nearly as welcoming at the present as it had been her past visit. And Clover wondered if that was because she had discovered by now that she was just a Freelance model and in no way whatsoever the supermodel that had been carefully selected to be the face of an important ad campaign by Scam himself.

The second she rose from her chair and walked over to her with a stiff posture and a cross expression on her face, any lingering doubts she had over if that was the case or not quickly flew out the window.

"Do you know that I could have lost my job because of you?!" She lectured angrily, steam practically coming from her ears in wisps as her face turned scarlet with unforgotten humiliation at how this woman had blatantly lied to her face.

How Mr. Scam had been kind enough not to sack her on the spot for letting a random lady waltz right into his private office she'd never know, but her colleagues weren't letting her hear the end of it. Everywhere she went she saw side glances directed at her and heard whispers joking about her failing to even check a visitor's credentials properly; a common sense part of her job.

And while her boss hadn't made a big deal out of this and had treated it as an isolated incident, she knew full well the extent of her mistake. She'd worked so hard to get here and now she felt like she was walking around on eggshells just to keep her position.

All because of _this _woman who really had some nerve coming back a second time without an appointment after already causing so much trouble. Just who did she think she was?

Her rage nowhere near shed yet, Lila delayed calling security and having her thrown out flat on her butt until she was done saying everything she'd been waiting to say to her if she ever saw her again.

But she was left shocked when the blonde rolled her eyes and simply huffed out a "_I don't have time for this right now_" before pushing right past her to the same destination that she'd been making her way to before she'd stopped her.

**"**Hey! Get back here!"She called out after her to no avail as Clover kept moving despite her warnings that she wasn't allowed to venture any further. And when she wouldn't stop even at that she heard the secretary scream shrilly for the guards over the intercom system.

Knowing that she didn't have much time left to get to Scam, Clover broke into a mad sprint. Even when she heard multiple footsteps race after her along with curses being uttered behind her when they failed to catch up with ease, she kept pushing herself to go faster and faster treating this as a race she had to win at any cost.

Just a moment after, she grabbed hold of the silver doorknob. With her last burst of adrenaline she tugged it open and finally burst inside the threshold of Scam's office.

And at seeing the man just sitting there dressed in his tailored suit, smiling blissfully and looking like it was just another day when her entire world was on fire, pushed her over the edge.

"IS THAT ALL MY BEST FRIEND IS WORTH TO YOU SCAM? JUST ONE TRY? ONE LAME ATTEMPT?!"Clover screeched without even stopping to catch her breath first, not caring about how hoarsely her voice cracked when she spoke nor for the scene she was making as she already knew she'd been kicked out of here soon enough.

Immediately two sets of eyes snapped in her direction; sea foam ones belonging to Tim Scam and a dark blue pair belonging to another man who'd been leaned over looking at something on Scam's laptop screen.

Both their jaws were parted and their eyes were wide in shock at her unexpected arrival and furious expression but Clover gave them no chance to recover as she reached into her purse and snatched up the tabloid she'd stuffed in there.

"WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?!" She spit out, snarling like a tigress with gritted teeth while throwing the magazine with the scandalous photo of him plastered across the cover so that it landed smack dab on the desk where both Scam and his company could see it clearly.

The tube of lip balm and bottle of hand lotion she always kept on her person that fell out in the process and the paper seemed to have the effect of a grenade on the unnamed man as he gasped and took a big step back almost colliding into a wall.

But she wasn't able to stay put long enough to get a reaction out of Scam as she felt two pairs of strong and burly hands grab her shoulders and elbows and proceed to try to haul her out of the room.

"We're so sorry!" The guards apologized to whom she assumed was Scam over and over for letting her get this close to him as they dragged her backwards while she dug her soles into the floor while hissing and fighting against them like a feral cat with the entire weight of her body.

When they wouldn't release her despite her struggles, she lost her temper at them treating her like some deranged psycho who needed retraining and swung up the arm she held her bag in with force until it made contact with one of the men's faces. He grunted in a mixture of surprise and discomfort as it hit his nose and she felt his grip on her falter which was all the fuel she needed to keep hitting him.

Sure she may no longer be the super spy she'd once been but when it came to choosing between fight or flight, to this day her automatic reflex was to stand her ground and fight.

"Let go of me!" She yelled as she attacked, not willing to go until she was done giving Scam the earful she had made this long journey for that these two muttonheads were interrupting.

What resulted was a wrestling match so vicious that it caused a small crowd of office workers to gather just outside Scam's door. Whispering to each other, they craned their necks around to see past one other to find out what on earth was going on.

**"ENOUGH!" **

It was Scam's angered voice that restored order amidst the chaos, the boom of his commanding tone sending shivers around the room as it went as quiet as someone hitting mute on a TV remote while all actions stopped at once as if everyone had been flash frozen solid.

For every single employee present knew that Mr. Scam didn't shout for just anything. No matter what came his way he was calm, collected, dignified and dealt with it in a civilized manner. Him raising his voice was to put it shortly ... terrifying.

And so they turned around and left almost tripping over each other in a flurry of hushed sorrys as they shuffled themselves away from his office in record time.

When they were gone he turned his attention next to his security guards who were literally shaking in their polished black shoes like leaves in a cold autumn breeze as they feared incurring his wrath.

"_Leave_," Scam stated the single word with so much impact that it felt exactly like the order to their ears that it was. Neither man dared protest as they bowed their heads and did his bidding, turning on their heels and walking out without so much as a peep coming from either of their lips.

As she watched them go, Clover had to suppress the urge to gulp dryly. If it wasn't for her deep concern over her best friend's life going down the drain again that was keeping her put, she wasn't sure that she wouldn't have followed suit and run out herself.

After mustering up her bravery she gradually put her gaze back on Scam as she waited for him to address her next but he instead turned to the man standing behind him.

"Darren, you too please," he requested and she noticed how he said it in a much gentler tone than he had to the others. This guy whoever he was close to Scam, a fact further proven with how he didn't leave right away like the other had and instead shot Scam a look only best friends gave each other in a troublesome situation. A hybrid of a _"let me stay, I've got your back" _and _"are you sure you want me to go?" _

Only when Scam touched the guy's shoulder in friendly little pat and nodded again did he move. With a long sigh he made his way out but not before walking around her in a circle and giving her a warning look before finally leaving after closing the door behind him to give Tim the privacy he wanted with her right now.

Their audience now all gone, Scam slowly sat down at his desk and picked up the half-crumpled tabloid in his hands. Clover could see his eyes move from left to right reading the headline text and then assessing the snapshot carefully but his lips remained sealed as if glued shut with an epoxy.

And she grew irked when just a moment later, still without any visible reaction he coolly put the paper down, got up, made himself a drink from the mini bar near a cabinet before he sat back down in his leather chair and proceeded to look at another file sitting on his table.

Realizing what he was doing, Clover's jaw dropped at being ignored as she watched all her fears come true. Based on his way too placid demeanour about this, it really _did _seem like he was done pursuing Sam after all. It looked exactly like he'd moved on with the woman in the picture as he wasn't arguing for his innocence at all.

"SO THAT'S IT THEN?! YOU'RE DONE? DON'T WANT SAMMIE ANYMORE?!" Those inflamed words filled with blistering outrage flew from her lips as she felt slapped in the face.

How dare he choose that Donna Hansen who had been all over him like a loose slut after what? Just one day together? At most? She remembered the article saying how they'd struck a cord with one another after just under 24 hours spent together. The thought that he really was bailing on her Sammie for that bimbo disgusted her because she'd really thought Scam had more class than _that_.

Had he and Donna slept together? Was that why he was so blasé right now? Her eyes narrowed into icy slits as she watched him in a disillusioned way. Had she really been so damn wrong about him? Was he truly just like other men who wanted just _one_ thing and wanted it handed to them with no effort, no patience, without even breaking a sweat? Would drift towards any woman like a moth to a flame so long as she eagerly warmed his bed?

If that was the case then she'd regrettably have to accept that he definitely wasn't the guy for Sam to make a life with let alone be any kind of father to Josie. But she didn't want to believe it. Forget wanting, she _refused_ to believe it.

No it couldn't be! She knew him! This was the same man that didn't know how to give up. Didn't have the word "quit" in his dictionary. The same that always had been a thorn in their side back when they used to be enemies. The one that always came back for more.

How then could he let go of Sam so easily when she'd been sure when she'd left that day that he was going to do anything and everything in his power to have her?

"JUST HOW MANY ATTEMPTS DID YOU MAKE TO TAKE DOWN WOOHP SCAM? TEN? TWENTY? A HUNDRED? REMIND ME BECAUSE I LOST COUNT!" She screamed, dead set on having this conversation even if she was the only speaker in it.

"Wow, you've REALLY let yourself go haven't you? You've grown soft! The version of you I remember was _relentless_ when he wanted something! What the hell happened to you Tim?!" She questioned looking at him with piercing eyes as she tried to x-ray down to his soul and reach the guy she thought she'd known once upon a time before shaking her head in a letdown way because she'd hoped for so much more from him.

"I expected a real chase … not a game of tag," she mumbled with a dissatisfied huff before sighing and saying more.

"YOU were the one who always came back!" She kept trying to jog his seemingly lost memory. "YOU were the one who always got back up again and again and again each time you were knocked down, YOU were—"

She paused searching for the right word before finding it and continuing on trying valiantly to provoke a response from him.

"Invincible."

But again all she got out of him was a slight twitch in his jaw as he just pretended to be deaf while he flipped the page in his folder and kept reading his document as though he were alone right now and she wasn't standing just a few feet away talking directly to him.

Now having had it up to her limit with him acting like she was invisible despite her screaming her lungs out before him, Clover growled before marching straight to him and slamming her palms down hard on the desktop causing the pretty, crystal paperweight occupying it to twirl and everything else including the file he held to rattle violently.

"ANSWER ME DAMMIT!" She demanded and at long last his head lifted up as he looked her dead in the eye.

But when he did she didn't find just the annoyance she expected at her being in his face like this but also, for some reason a touch of ... _pain_.

A little alarmed at what she thought she was seeing in him now that she was up close, Clover blinked falling quiet just for a minute as she waited for him to break his silence and fill her in as to what had happened.

The last time she'd met him he hadn't been this way. Yes he'd started out being in denial over why he'd kissed Sam and all but he hadn't looked this wounded. The only time he'd even gotten upset was when he'd learned that Sam had lied to her that their kiss had not been mutual. The rest of the time he'd been his usual confident and poised self no matter what she'd said. Never had he looked this dejected. This rejected.

So what was the matter with him _now_? Why did he look so much like a ground zero after an earthquake, an explosion, a divorce all rolled up into one?

Eager to know why he had this out of character look on his handsome face, she wondered what to say to get him to talk to her like he was failing to so far. This charging in and yelling tactic might work on most people but on him, it was clearly not having the effect that she'd been aiming for.

Realizing she needed to change her approach she thought for a long moment as to what to do when suddenly she figured it out. Taking a deep breath she prepared herself in case he swung at her for saying this before she cocked her head to the side with her and blue eyes boring into his, finally spoke.

"Did Sammie slap in the face again or something? Is that why you're so antsy?"

As expected the rest of his poker face cracked away at that. No longer was his agony just visible in his eyes, it rapidly spread all across his face as he glowered back at her. His brown eyebrows bunched up, dents forming between them while his lips stretched down into a deep frown and his eyes crackled red hot as if having spontaneously burst into flame.

"SOMETIMES WORDS HURT!" Scam barked before he could stop himself. Yet the second his own sentence fell on his eardrums and he realized it had left his mouth, Scam was filled with intense regret and shame. His eyes went wide and his face coloured rouge.

Biting his cheek hard he gave himself swift punishment for letting that slip out. He wasn't supposed to say that. He wasn't supposed to say _anything_. His plan had been to just sit here and wait out her temper tantrum until she inevitably tired herself out and left never to return again.

So that maybe he could finally get on with his existence with no one reminding him of _her_.

So that this "Samantha Simpson" chapter which had for whatever reason been flipped back to in the book of his life could at last be closed for good. But there was a fad chance that was going to happen now thanks to his big mouth. And he knew he'd blown it when Clover started to pry again with renewed interest.

"... What did Sammie say?" She asked candidly having sorted out that the words that had caused him said anguish had to come from the redhead. Because had they come from just anyone, she knew him enough to know he'd just laugh them off with no care given.

But Sam unfortunately was not just a nobody, she was the woman he'd begun to dream having for his wife and giving her daughter his last name. That was until she brought him out of the land of fantasies and harshly crashing back to reality:

_"Maybe it doesn't matter to me if you have changed Scam! Your life is wonderful now so go live it; maybe I don't want any part of you regardless!"_

Her biting words echoed inside the chambers of his mind and he burst like a dam. Perhaps it was juvenile, perhaps it wasn't even totally fair but right now he wanted to blame Clover for what he'd suffered.

He was doing just fine before she'd told him to go make Sam his own. And now she had to listen to what he'd gone through thanks to her.

"Well for starters..." he hissed, starting to reveal the information Clover wanted so badly but pausing to let out a bitter chuckle from deep in his lungs because he already knew she wouldn't like it.

"What? What?!" Clover's impatient voiced filled the gaps in between his laughter, almost afraid of the stormy look on his features. Just how far had Sam gone in telling him no? She knew Sam had told him she didn't want him (she'd said so herself), but she had a feeling she'd said way worse to him. A simple no was not likely to get him _this_ aggravated.

And when she finally found out, Clover's jaw nearly detached and fell to the floor.

"She asked me if I wanted to make her my mistress! She accused me of wanting to solicit her for **SEX**! I put my pride and dignity on the line and poured my heart out to **YOUR** best friend and all she could say was that I didn't meet her standards and **NEVER **would! I **BEGGED** her to let me prove her wrong ... and she just threw me out cold and told me to **NEVER** come back!"

"..."

Clover stood there speechless from shock, her eyes triple wide in size at his admission. Had Sam really said all that to him of all men? A man who was filthy rich, gorgeous, and could have any woman he pleased? She couldn't think of a single girl who in her right mind who would turn him down. Maybe back when he used to be a baddie he could be seen as somewhat undesirable but today? No way.

Then what was the reason for Sam serving him such a mean dismissal?

_"Oh no ..." _she groaned as she put two and two together. God Sam was doing it again wasn't she? She was scaring away another guy just because of what_ he _had done to her. Trying to make _him _pay for _his_ sins by using an innocent man as an outlet_._

She almost jumped when she heard Scam's seething voice start up again with so much animosity that she almost choked on it.

"And you then you have the audacity to wonder why I don't want—"

His hands flew up to make sarcastic air quotations.

"**YOUR SAMMIE** anymore."

With that he turned his back to her and stared out of one of the wall-to-wall bay windows of his office in an attempt to calm down, his body shaking from his rage all the while he muttered curses to himself under his breath.

Clover stared at him from behind with a sad pout on her lips now unable to help but feel bad for him. With all the facts on the table she couldn't really blame him for not wanting to make any more attempts at winning Sam's affection. She hadn't exactly been welcoming to him in any way but—

Regardless she couldn't let him walk away. She could not allow this to end no matter what it took. Not for Sam's sake and especially not for Josie's sake who hadn't even had the chance to meet Scam yet.

Walking around his large desk to go stand with him, she mirrored his pose as he stood with his arms crossed over his chest. She said nothing for a moment just giving him silent company before she worked up the nerve to speak to him again.

"... I'm sorry Tim. It wasn't right of her to say those things to you."

He didn't move, not even looking at her from the corner of his eye as he grumbled out a thank you to her for saying that much but with not much sincerity before asking her to please vacate his office now that this conversation was done with.

But again her quest to make things better for those she loved so dearly kept her steadily in place. She just had to find some way to get through to him. Sam's actions and words had incorrectly made him assume that it was him that she loathed to no end and could never love and that was why she was pushing him away, but that wasn't true. The issue was something else. Something else that she knew full well and he didn't.

"Clover _please_ don't make me call security back in here," Scam heaved out, flicking his eyes to hers with a warning glance to start walking now.

But when another minute passed and she didn't hear him, he sighed tiredly no longer caring to be cordial with her anymore because his patience had reached its end.

"Fine, have it your way."

He walked to the front of his desk and reached for the phone to call his guards. He'd just picked it up and was about to press the button for the line that led directly to his head of security when Clover's words made him fall slack.

**"IT'S NOT YOU THAT SAMMIE HATES! YOU'RE PAYING THE PRICE FOR SOMEONE ELSE'S MISTAKES, NOT YOUR OWN!"**

As much as he tried not to let that cryptic statement of hers get to him, he was compelled to look back at her in a lost manner.

"What the _hell _is that supposed to mean?"

Feeling his intense gaze on hers Clover bit her lip nervously. How could she tell him what he needed to hear without giving away Sam's entire history? Under no circumstances did she want to drag her bleak past into her present and least of all when it came to the man she wanted Sam to spend her future with.

God knew it was already hard enough to find a guy who didn't make a run for it the second he discovered that Sam was the single mom of a toddler. Scam was a rarity but if he found out how Sam had wound up pregnant, who knew what he'd think! What judgments he'd make about her! About Josie!

She already knew of one man who'd started to hate the sight of Sam when he learned how she got pregnant and that was her own father. She couldn't risk Scam becoming the second.

"... Just take my word on this okay?" She softly insisted not really giving him an answer.

But Scam noted straight away how she averted his gaze and started awkwardly playing with her hair as if uncomfortable.

Unwilling to do this anymore if she wasn't going to do him the courtesy of being frank, Scam growled. "No, I won't take your word for it Clover. I _can't_. I did that the last time and got burned. I need more than just your word to convince me this time."

Shaking his head from side to side he frowned as he spoke firmly to make sure she got this through her head. "I won't go on a fool's errand. I have better things to do with my time than chase after something impossible."

This time Scam reached for the half empty glass of alcohol on his desk and downed what was left of the now warm liquid before crushing it in his fist and demanding for her to get out right this second, threatening to call the cops this time if she didn't leave him alone.

"Look, I get it!" Clover called out, racing over to him and tugging on his arm in desperation. There was no point in being discreet about this anymore. "You don't want to pursue Sam because it's too much work right! Well was all of this—"

She used her free hand to make a sweeping motion around his extravagant office space.

"Built in one day?!"

Tugging his arm free from her, Scam snorted loudly through his fuming nostrils. "That is not a comparison. All of this was attainable."

"But did it never seem like it wasn't? It had to have at some point!" She retorted knowing an empire of this magnitude took serious effort to build. This much money and name that most could only dream of couldn't have come by easily. Even for a guy like him.

"Not to me," Scam strictly disagreed with her still. "I always knew that I could make it happen. I know what I'm capable of. If I want something, really want it then I always get it. _Always_."

There is was, Clover thought as her eyes lit up with hope that had been dwindling into darkness until now. That spark of resolve she'd been looking for in him. A trace of his famously unbreakable will. She knew this was her chance and she took it.

"THEN. GO. GET. SAM. I know you want her! You know that you do!" Her voice lowered down to a gentle whisper as she pleaded with him one last time and prayed this would do the trick.

"If you really want her Tim, then the only one standing in your way is ... you."

But as moving as her mini speech was, he just paced away from her agitated more than ever.

"And what about Sam wants?!" Scam snapped wondering if she hadn't heard what he'd told her she'd said to him with excruciating clarity. Words that were burned into his mind forever. She'd wanted for him to leave her be. In fact he was the last thing she'd told him she wanted. Why couldn't Clover get that through her thick skull?

"I'm giving her what she wants," Scam insisted.

"No ... you're giving up," Clover retaliated boldly.

"..."

Running a hand down his face, Tim Scam sighed in defeat. Yes, he concurred to himself. She was right, he was giving up but not out of fatigue but for it being the best option. To hell with his desires; he couldn't force himself upon a woman who had no feelings for him whatsoever.

His face hardened as he fought to not remember the steaming passion of that one kiss they'd shared to focus on her much more telling demeanour around him every other instance since which had shown him hatred, hatred, and more hatred.

And after turning his life around and earning the esteem and respect he had today, he couldn't handle being with someone who hated him as if he was still that convict. No, he didn't deserve that. He'd much rather die a single man than put up with that.

Sam hated him with every fibre of her being, as difficult of a pill that had been to swallow he'd made himself do it. And now and it was high time that Clover did the same.

Maybe her heart was in the right place wanting to aid her friend that she felt could be leading better life, but her wanting to make that happen by getting him to hook up with her was simply never going to come to pass. It just _wasn't_ going to.

"I don't think I'm the man for her Clover," Scam preached solemnly while watching the blonde's face fall. But he continued anyway, not receiving any pleasure from watching her look like a kicked puppy as he once greatly would have but doing this because it had to be done.

"Maybe you should focus your energy and efforts on helping her find the right one," Scam suggested trying to be helpful to her and not letting the time she'd spend with him go to total waste.

"He's out there somewher—"

"But you ARE the right man for Sammie! The only man for her!" Clover interrupted without even allowing him to finish.

The sheer conviction she said it with bugged him down to his core. This wasn't the first time she'd said something like this. Right from the start of this whole affair she'd outright decreed that he needed to be with Sam. And try as he might he could not fathom _why_.

It hadn't made any sense to him before and it definitely made even less sense now after Clover was aware that Sam had turned him down flat.

Why? Scam quizzed himself while staring hard at the woman who had him perplexed as if trying to read her mind. Why was she so desperate to make this happen?

He couldn't get over the gut feeling that she was hiding something from him and he needed to know what that was before it drove him mental.

"Tell me why you have your heart set on this because the Clover Ewing I remember would never be _so_ eager to set her bestie up with a villain," Scam put her on the spot.

"Umm ... you're reformed remember?" She tried to use that to wiggle out of the pressure he was trying to pile onto her. "You're not a villain anymore. Now you're just a regular guy who is more than an eligible bachelor."

"And just my word on that is good enough for you?" Scam said, not buying what she was selling him as he scoffed. "Because it wasn't good enough for Sam."

Silence, the likes of which a pin could be heard dropping from a mile away followed his sentence and he knew he was getting warmer. Wanting to hit Bull's-eye, he took a step closer to her and mercilessly continued to question her motives.

"Why are YOU the one who is barging into my office trying to force me to have a romance with Sam? With any man rather? Why isn't anyone else doing this for her? Why not Sam herself? Why not Alex?"

He brought up having noticed by now that she seemed to be totally missing from the picture which was bizarre to say the least. The three girls had been joined at the hip in the past, their secret spy lives only making the bond of their already tight friendship even stronger. Had that changed?

"Why not Britney?" He charged forward. "Why not someone else? Why are **YOU **the only one doing this Clover? Why?!" Scam challenged to know only to find Clover at a complete loss for words.

Having her in a corner now he went in for the kill. Crossing his arms over his chest he asked her his most burning question. "What's _really_ going on here Clover? I want the truth ... and I want it _now_."

Clover dropped her head down low, her eyes staring blankly at the hardwood flooring but still starting to tear up despite how hard she tried to keep control of herself.

The answer to his question danced at the very tip of her tongue. Of course she knew just why she was the one who wanted and needed this for Sam more than anyone, maybe even Sam herself.

Still she struggled to find the strength and courage to overcome the shame she'd been harboring on her shoulders for five long years and let it out. Admit her deep dark secret that it had been her who had introduced Sam ...

To Josie's **father**.

* * *

...

I hope that was dramatic? I was going for dramatic lol. I wonder how you guys will take that little bombshell if it's even bombshelly enough idk xD

Anyway! Like I promised, lots of Scam and Clover were in this chapter! The whole story about Sam and Josie's dad will be in the **next chapter**! I'll try my best to get that one and other updates out sooner than this one! ^-^

Review? :)

Till then!

Love,

Cresenta


	12. Chapter 12

Writer's blocks are the worstttt. *whines*

Now that I have that out of my system, hai y'all! Updates may be slow (esp with my comp on its last legs, it crashed 5 times this morning otl) but I want you to know I'm still here and have no plans of leaving! **^0^**

Now time to fully reveal Sam's past! Prepare yourselves ... things get ugly.

**Disclaimer:** Totally Spies is not mine. *grumbles* Stupid.

* * *

"... I'm waiting," she heard Scam say in a voice firm and unwavering, making it clear to her that he wanted an answer to his question and would not proceed any further if he didn't get it.

Clover knew that she had to spill; she couldn't keep this from him any longer if she wanted him to pursue Sam. Tim Scam was not the kind of guy who liked to play games and on the rare occasion that he did, he only did so when he was in total control and every last card was on the table before him. It was high time that she show him her hand. Sometimes in order to move forwards, you had to go backward first.

Praying to God that after hearing this he wouldn't be scared away like so many had before, she drew in a deep breath to muster up her courage and began talking.

"She was in her first year of college when she met him ..." she revealed slowly, still hesitantly but soon letting it all out of her system while Scam listened to every word with all his attention.

Everything that she'd bore witness to 6 years in the past. How a certain Lucas "Luke" Sharpe had unleashed destruction on her best friend, her sister's once peaceful and perfect life.

She still remembered every detail of that night when Sam's path crossed with that of her biggest mistake thanks to her nagging at her to go to that big frat party that was making buzz all over campus. It was just like yesterday in her memory.

_Strolling into the dorm room she shared with her two besties, Clover rolled her blue eyes when she saw Sam acting just like the textbook bookworm she was. She was sitting at her desk with a biology textbook open before her, eyes pinned on the information there, pen in hand while she neatly wrote notes in her notebook for a test that wasn't to happen for at least a month. On a Friday night no less!_

_"Too much studying is going to cause your brain to explode, girlfriend!" She declared as she marched right over and closed the book Sam was so keenly reading with a loud thump._

_"Hey!" The redhead cried out in immediate protest. "I was reading that!" _

_She tried re-opening the text so Clover picked it up and held it high above her head to make sure she couldn't reach it. _

_"Clover!" Sam muttered through gritted teach as she jumped to her bare feet and tried to get it back while Clover playfully swatted her hands away every time. Finally, after five minutes Sam gave up. She was tired from a long day of classes and slumped back in her chair with a defeated pout grumbling that she'd just read it later then. _

_Clover giggled at her sour face for a minute before shaking her head to herself. As much as she loved the girl, Sam and her were polar opposites. They were a month and a half into being students at Malibu University and she'd been having a blast exploring the scenic campus and meeting loads of new people while Sam had barely left her dormitory. The only time she set foot outside was to attend her grueling classes or for volunteering purposes. In fact a "Sammie sighting" in the outside world was fast becoming as rare as seeing a four-leaf clover. _

_She was basically a hermit, her schedule fully loaded with work commitment after work commitment. She honestly needed to live a little! Sure college was about getting good grades and padding your resume with extra curriculars to get into the grad program of your choice but it had to be balanced with some fun to make it bearable._

_If Sam kept up like this, she was soon heading for a total burn-out and she wasn't about to let that happen to her bestie. _

_A cheeky looks spread across her face as she remembered her big reason to interrupt Sam's oh so important study session. She had just the ticket for Sammie to finally let loose and enjoy herself a little and she was going to make sure that she didn't miss out._

_"There's a big party going on toniggggggght!" She sang out cheerfully and for the first time, Sam noticed how Clover had on flawless makeup and was dressed in short red dress paired with black booties and a matching, trendy, cropped leather jacket; an outfit perfect for clubbing. _

_"I flirted with a guy to get us in," Clover went on grinning from ear to ear. "Everyone who is anyone is going and you have to come! The senior guys organized it and word is that they host the best parties like ever!"_

_"A seniors' party?" Sam objected curbing Clover's enthusiasm as she bit her lip nervously. "I-I dunno Clover." _

_Before she'd gone off to school her mom and especially her dad had given her the college talk which had included warning her against attending such parties because college boys sometimes could get handsy. _

_Besides a frat party wasn't really her scene. Why couldn't she just take the night off and spend it with some of the girls from their sorority or better yet just Clover and Alex? _

_But Clover seemed to have her heart set on them going to this very party as she continued trying to convince her to go._

_"If you goooo," she wagered playfully twirling her hardcover text upon the tip of her index finger as though it were a basketball. "I'll give you back your book or else I may just keep it hostage foreverrrrrr!" _

_Just then Alex entered also dressed up for a fun night out in a teal crop top and short denim skirt paired with high heels. It only took Sam taking one look at her to know she was also going to this party Clover had been talking her ear off about._

_"You're going too?" She asked only for Clover to answer for Alex as she giggled and wrapped an arm around the raven-haired girl's shoulders._

_"Of course she is! Best friends forever do everything together!" She exclaimed hoping to get Sam with the program. _

_When the redhead just sighed in boredom and still didn't look like she wanted to join them, Clover tried a different approach. _

_"Aww come on Sammie! Just one Friday night, just one party ... what's the worst that can happen?"_

_Craning her neck back Sam groaned loud before throwing her hands up in defeat. There really wasn't ever any point trying to get Clover to budge once she'd made her mind up about having something happen. _

_"Okay, fine! I'll go!"_

_"That's more like it!" Clover pumped a fist in the air before rushing to Sam's closet and ripping open the doors soon sorting and picking through the articles of clothing to find Sam something cute to wear to the party that would make a big impression. _

_Just an hour later the trio was smack dab in the center of the party which was now live with raving lights, food, music, and dancing. _

_Alex was dancing with a guy in the center of the room while Clover was tipsily making out with another whilst sitting on his lap on a beanbag chair. Meanwhile Sam had planted herself in the quietest corner she could find while sipping on some soda in a plastic cup and waiting for her friends to tire themselves out so that they could leave._

_Unbeknownst to her as she stood there doing her best at being a wallflower in her strapless, navy, sequin dress, she was being keenly watched by a set of eyes belonging to a boy part of a group of gossiping guys all his age who were all breaking their necks to keep their eyes pinned on her. On a girl they'd never seen before in person but had heard plenty about._

_Rumours had alleged that she was a living, breathing Belle from the Beauty and the Beast, all brains and all beauty. They had not been wrong. With her bright emerald eyes, ivory skin, long, lean legs, lovely red hair that cascaded down to her waist, and voluptuous figure she was a perfect 10 out of 10. And the icing on the cake was that no guy had yet had a chance with her. _

_Well … he thought smirking to himself as he started making his way over to her confidently while being rooted on by his entourage. That ended tonight. Soon, very soon, this gorgeous babe was going to be all his. _

_"Come on Sammie, dance!" Clover insisted her to after spotting her just standing there not indulging herself in anything but her drink. _

_But Sam shook her head to dismiss that idea as she had no intention of dancing. She'd only come for a change of scenery and to keep Clover happy. She was in the process of reaching into her purse to grab her phone to occupy herself with when she heard an unfamiliar voice speaking to her. The smooth voice of a guy._

_"May I have this dance?"_

_Sighing Sam put a fake smile on her face as she spun around to politely turn him down only to fall slack when she saw him. Her eyes couldn't help but widen in awe as her mouth parted and suddenly she couldn't bring herself to talk. Whoever he was, this guy was really, really hot._

_He was tall, really tall, easily over 6 feet. He was fashionably donning a black t-shirt and tailored jeans that showed off his buff body. He had tanned skin, brown, crew cut hair, and eyes that were either vibrant blue or green. She couldn't tell for sure in the dim lighting but she could tell for sure that whatever color they were, they were stunning. _

_For some reason he reminded her of someone else. And while she was busy trying to figure out who, he shocked her by boldly grabbing her hand._

_"H-hey! Wha-what are you doing?" She squeaked out, only now remembering she was supposed to be telling him she wasn't interested. But as she twisted her wrist to try and get it free from his grasp she was blushing violently. Something about his touch made her cheeks feel like hot pancakes and the more she tried to get them to stop flushing so much, the redder they became._

_"Just showin' you how to have a good time," he responded ever so coolly as he persistently lulled her closer and closer to the dance floor. "I'm Lucas by the way," he introduced himself while giving her a charming smile that could melt a frozen mountain into a pile of hot goo. "Lucas Sharpe."_

_"So he's French," Sam thought as she told him her name was Samantha Simpson to not be rude. Come to think if it, she'd always had a thing for European guys. They were just so much dreamier for some reason, probably because that side of the world had such a rich cultural history that had always fascinated her._

_She snapped out of her distracted thoughts when she felt him try to make her move with him and pulled herself away. It wasn't that she hated dancing or something just right now she wasn't in the mood. Her feet ached from her long hours helping construct houses for Habitat for Humanity today and they were begging to slide into a relaxing bubble bath and then under the warm covers of her bed._

_But just as she got away he pulled her back to him, firmly but not forcefully enough to scare her and she found herself just staring at his handsome face as she gave her another one of those megawatt smiles he seemed to have that seemed to have a strange effect on her that she couldn't put into words._

_"Then maybe we can just talk Samantha. I'm as good of a listener as I am a dancer."_

_And soon enough she gave him a nod deciding that talking was harmless. Besides, she thought looking Clover and Alex's way to find neither of them looking ready to leave just yet; this would keep her busy until they were. _

_With no further hindrance she started letting him lead her to a table off to the side never noticing how close their bodies were, their sides softly brushing against one another and leaving electric sparks to hum in the space in between while her hand became completely intertwined within his own..._

"They made an instant connection and by the end of the night, Sammie was totally convinced she was in love," Clover fast-forwarded a bit while quietly noticing how there seemed to be the slightest bit of a jealous, green tinge to Tim Scam's handsome face as he sat there with his square jaw visibly tightened.

Her eyes trained on him to gauge his reaction, she continued filling in the gaps of Sam and Luke's short-loved romance.

"Soon they started spending more and more time together. It started with study dates ..." she explained implying how they had similar interests when it came to college subjects which had been another reason Sam had been so drawn to him. In fact Luke's major had been identical to Sam's; Fashion Design because his dream job was to be a fashion journalist and Sam's had been to be a couture wedding dress designer.

"And then meeting up for dinner, lunch, and then breakfast. They spent entire weekends and every single holiday together. Sam saw him every chance that she could get ..." Clover said as she remembered how quickly Sam had actually started to skip her classes to spend even more time with Luke, something that should have been a big red flag to more than just Alex.

"She was totally smitten," she continued solemnly. "It was like no one else even existed for her anymore. He seemed perfect for her and she for him."

And that was putting it lightly. It wasn't even that they had similar future professions in mind. No they seemingly had everything in common:

_They were both only children._

_The color purple was both of their favourite color._

_Rap music was their preferred genre only next to classical._

_They both loved eating sea food the most. _

_They both liked chess. _

_They both enjoyed poetry. _

_They both wanted to tour the world someday._

_They both chose to relax with long drives and even longer walks at the beach._

The list went on and on.

"So then what went wrong?" Clover heard Scam say and turned his way again. His large hands were now folded on top of his desk, fingertips tapping together idly as he processed what he was hearing while his sea green gaze penetrated her face deeply as he quizzed her with that key question.

Within it she detected all his scepticism. She could tell he was thinking that if they had truly been as perfect for one another as she was communicating then they should not have ever fallen apart as they obviously had. And he was right to think as such but of course Scam didn't know that all of Luke's feigned perfection for Sam had been a big, fat lie.

But _she _should have known.

Within a millisecond face hardened into stone as she remembered where her own mistakes had truly played a part in Sam's epic ruination. If she'd just handled things better maybe she could have stopped things from going any further. If she'd just listened to Alex's mounting concerns, things could have ended much differently. But she had failed so, so miserably in doing the right thing.

_Rolling back her slim shoulders as she walked through the door of DRM101 (Introduction to Drama, Theatre and Performance Studies, the only class that Sam had not taken along with them) that Clover was holding open for her, Alex smiled while taking her backpack off and holding it in her arms to give her back a rest._

_They'd made it through another week of college, the weekend was here, and she was so looking forward to relishing this much needed break._

_"Wanna go to the movies tonight?" She asked the second they made it down the stairs that led outside the Faculty of Music building. "The sci-fi movie I've just been dyingggggg to see has a late show that we can totally catch! How about we freshen up a bit and then go see it? My treat!"_

_"Um hello?! As if I'm gonna say no to any movie starring the hottie that is Raddddd!" Clover giggled with hearts in her eyes knowing just the film Alex was talking about as she'd mentioned it before which thankfully would have plenty of eye candy for her to drool over thanks to the hunky Rad Smitt playing the starring role (1). _

_Glad that Clover was on board with her plan, Alex was just about to ask if they should eat a snack after showering first or just live off the popcorn they'd obviously be getting to munch on with the movie when Clover said something that made her automatically frown. _

_"But it's just gonna be the two of us; Sammie won't be able to come. She's going out with Luk__—__"_

_"Again?" Alex cut her off with a palpable note of annoyance in her tone which left Clover blinking in surprise. _

_"Something wrong with that Al?" She asked one long and awkward moment of silence later._

_Alex didn't answer straight away as she bit her lip almost looking like she was wondering whether or not to say that which she clearly wanted to. Finally she let out a brief sigh and fessed up. "It's just that ... it kinda feels like he's totally hogging Sammie nowadays."_

_Hearing that complaint Clover let out a long laugh before continuing with teasing in her happy tone. "Isn't he supposed to? I mean he's her boyfriend Alex! That's kinda what boyfriends do!" _

_But Alex didn't even crack a smile as she shook her head no to say that wasn't what her issue was and went on sourly. "It's get that but doesn't this whole thing sorta feel like déjà vu?"_

_When Clover just gave her a disconnected look, Alex was forced to tread into territory she was hoping not to have to actually go into again._

_"Doesn't this remind you even a teensy weensy bit about when Sam was dating James?" _

_The second she said that name (2), Clover's eyes flashed with understanding. She could now see where Alex was going with this and if she were being honest, Alex did have a point. _

_Just like back in high school when Sam had met a guy she'd insta boyfriended because he'd appeared perfect, Sam had become Luke's girlfriend literally just 2 days after meeting him. Just as she'd given James every second of every day, she'd been giving Luke every hour in the twenty-four hours of her day. And just as though she'd gone beyond gaga over James Williams, she was completely head over heels for Lucas Sharpe. _

_But that was where the similarities stopped. This wasn't going to end up the way things had with James. No, Luke was a wonderful guy unlike James the opportunistic asshole who'd had an ulterior motive and nefarious purposes towards getting close to Sam and making her fall for him. James had had zero actual feelings for Sammie while Luke was clearly as deeply in love with Sam as she was with him. _

_After all they'd been together for over three months now and were still going strong. This relationship was definitely a real one._

_"There's just something in my gut that keeps telling me that there's something wrong Clover," Alex whispered sounding genuinely afraid as she said this. "Something about Lucas just feels ..." She squirmed, her caramel skin turning pale. "__**Off**__."_

_"Luke is perfectly perfect," Clover stated with her nose up and in a matter-of-fact manner, deciding that she just had to end all of Alex's worries right then and there before they got to Sam's ears. _

_Seriously how would she feel if she found out Alex thought this way about the love of her life? Definitely not happy. _

_"Look I get it okay! You love Sammie! She's like a sister and you want to protect her." Placing a hand over her heart to show she was being sincere, Clover continued. "I'm just the same but I swear you don't have anythinnnnng to worry about! This one's a keeper! Everything is just fine with Sammie and Luke and that's how it's gonna stay. Trust me!"_

_Nodding her head only due to how sure Clover sounded, Alex relented and dropped the subject for now by opting to talk about their movie outing instead. _

_But deep inside her despite this conversation, her instinct kept telling her over and over that Clover ... was wrong. _

Open shame coloured her face as she kept replaying the past and the memory of what had come just one week after that failed heart-to-heart with Alex.

She'd just returned from the mall with Sam who'd picked out a new dress to wear on her date and had been affectionately looking over her own purchases while Sam took a shower to get ready to go out with her boyfriend when her phone had suddenly lit up with a text.

A text from none other than Alex.

A text that had been the beginning of the end.

_**NEED 2 TALK. DON'T TELL SAM. LIBRARY. **_

_Groaning to herself, Clover wondered to herself if Alex was going to go on another rant about Lucas, an annoying habit that she'd developed out of the blue for some reason. Sadly their little talk had done nothing to soothe Alex's concerns and ever since she'd been making jabs and comments here and there every day to express her disapproval and suspicion of him. _

_In fact it was starting to get super hard to cover for her in front of Sam who by now had started to notice how Alex didn't really seem to like her amazing boyfriend. It was putting a strain on their friendship, creating a distance between the two girls that had been joined at the hip since childhood so she just wished Alex would chill out and stop being so freaking paranoid. _

_Hearing the ding of another message again from the girl in question, she reluctantly dragged herself off the comfy dorm couch and trudged her way down to the library. _

_On the other side of the campus with her eyebrows in a knot, Alex was pacing restlessly back and forth in front of the library's closed doors with a storm brewing inside her. The knowledge that she now had tormenting her as she wrestled with the question of how on earth she was going to tell this to Sam who was really going to be heartbroken when she found out because she thought the moon and the stars of Luke when frankly? He was nothing more than a steaming pile of trash._

_But then again she couldn't just sit on this. Her expression grew more grave. Sam had to know before it was too late. She'd never forgive herself if her keeping her mouth shut for too long ultimately ended up hurting her. _

_As she waited for Clover to show up she thought back to just how she'd stumbled upon this bombshell. After speaking with Clover seven days, without telling another soul she had taken it upon herself to do some digging into Lucas Sharpe. Because she hadn't been able to just let this go. Not only was Sam with him from AM to freaking PM to AM again, but he was bad influence and she was sucking that up like a sponge. _

_Her, the forever most studious girl she'd known not caring about her studies so much anymore had been just the beginning (she still remembered how she'd gotten a set of C's on her report card for the first time in her life and despite promising to study more for the rest of the year to pull her grades back up had, the very same day, went off to see Luke again in the time she'd allotted for a cram session and returned at 3:30 am only to pass out onto her bed with her schoolbooks untouched), Sam was quickly changing into a another girl entirely. A girl she truthfully didn't even recognize. _

_Just like she'd been so desperate to get Seth's attention back when she'd been at Bev High that she'd turned herself Goth for him (3), Sam was altering her appearance. However Sam's physical transformation was a lot more troubling then her wearing black all the time. _

_Sam's makeup was heavier and much more "look at me", her hair was always in a high bun so it didn't cover any part of her body front or back. Her clothes were skin tight enough that they left nothing to the imagination of what was under them and short, so short that they barely reached past thong level. _

_Luke seemed to have told Sam that he liked her body and she was making a point of showing it to him more and more to keep him happy. And the few times that she'd been in the same room that she'd been in with Luke, her amber eyes had been unable to not see what was right before her. How he looked at Sam like a starving animal did at a piece of meat. _

_His eyes never left her cleavage, his mouth always breathing down her neck, his hand forever petting and squeezing her behind while he had her trapped in the confines of his lap where he made sure she always sat._

_So out of fear and worry she'd started covertly following him around. And then one day while he'd been leaving gym class with his jock friends, she'd heard a conversation about Sam that had terrified her to depths of her soul. One that left no doubts whatsoever what Luke's intentions towards Sam were. What it was that he was really after._

_From the corner of her eye she saw the blonde approaching and raced over to her, immediately telling her that which she couldn't keep to herself any longer. _

He didn't love Sam, Alex had warned her. He only loved her body. Of course when she'd heard that disgusting accusation that Luke, Sam's now longest lasting boyfriend was only interested in sex and had apparently made some bet with a high payout that he would win if he managed to be Sam's "first", she'd been shocked and refused to believe it.

_"What?!"_ She'd gasped while snorting and scoffing. _"Who Luke? Come on Alex, you have to have misheard. There's just nooooo way!" _

Even while Alex had sworn to her that she'd heard the words as plain as day, she hadn't trusted her and had actually given her an earful for thinking something so gross about the guy Sam loved so very much. She'd then irrationally ordered Alex to never say this to Sam instead of taking her seriously which had left Alex with no option but to confront Sam all by herself.

What had resulted was an argument so heated that it had permanently severed Alex and Sam's friendship. The second Alex mentioned what she'd eavesdropped on Luke to Sam, Sam had lost it. She'd snarled and shouted and asked Alex who the hell she thought she was spying on Luke like that?

When Alex had countered by saying she was her friend and was just being that by doing this Sam had argued that friends didn't betray friends like this, choosing to focus all her attention on Alex going behind her back to investigate her boyfriend instead of the much more important results of her findings.

All sorts of painful insults had then been tossed Alex's way. That she was loser, that she needed to get a life, get a boyfriend of her own instead of tag after hers. And then the worst one. That she'd always known that Alex was jealous of Luke and her relationship but not so much that she'd stoop this low to make up such a filthy lie just to try and break them up.

That had been the final straw for Alex. She'd burst into tears and yelled out that Sam was being an idiot and would one day pay for her own blindness but when that day came, she wouldn't be there to see it because she was no longer Sam's friend.

She'd then cleared out all her essential belongings from their dorm, messily stuffed them all into a suitcase and run out leaving Sam behind while she herself had uselessly done nothing besides calling out Alex's name a few times to try and make her come back and giving up soon after when she didn't.

She supposed she'd thought back then that when Alex calmed down she'd be back, that Sam and her friendship would recover when the two started to miss each other.

But Alex never came back. She instead went home to visit family and shifted into her step-father's place with her mom because they had the room to house her until she figured out where she wanted to attend classes now that she'd quit Malibu.

As bad as that was, unfortunately Clover knew now that her ultimate blunder hadn't even been allowing Sam to stupidly push Alex away in the harsh and unfair way that she had and standing by and supporting her in her decision when she should have seen that it was Sam and not Alex who'd been in the wrong.

No there was another one she'd made, an even more severe error that she beat herself up for every day since to this day. She gulped dryly as she attempted to choke back her sobs only to fail because she knew that was it, that was the _thing_ that had been the catalyst to Sam losing not just Alex but everything she'd held near and dear.

Tears now prickling the edges of her blue eyes, she remembered being in her dorm that night just two nights after Alex's exit when Sam had come in looking anxious and badly needing some advice on a rather delicate subject.

_"So you two still haven't made up?" Clover asked although the answer to that question was already on Sam's unhappy and depressed looking face as she sat down on a nearby chair and sulked away._

_News of her and Alex's spectacular falling out had made it all the way to Luke who had chivalrously decided to hold himself responsible for it. He believed he was the one who had come between Sam and her BFF, so much so that he was punishing himself by avoiding Sam like the plague. Last she'd heard, he'd said that he just didn't deserve her after causing something this awful to happen to her. _

_And judging by Sam's mood right now it seemed after 48 hours of her trying to tell him he was wrong, that he had no reason to feel guilty about this, he still thought otherwise._

_"Did you tell him what she said to you about him?" Clover wondered aloud knowing if Luke knew that then he probably wouldn't be seeing Sam losing Alex as such a huge loss. "And that you decided to cut her out of your life because of it?" _

_If anything, that would at least prove to Luke that her loyalties were with him and not Alexandra Vasquez. _

_"I did," Sam quietly mumbled before biting her lip hard and sighing out a but._

_"But what?"_

_"Luke fears that things will just NEVER be the same between us again," Sam explained while pouting like a sad, lost, and kicked puppy. "This whole thing has just caused waaaaaaay too much drama and now he__—__"_

_"SO HE'S BREAKING UP WITH YOU?!" Clover gasped out in concern, immediately moving to comfort Sam if that was the case. She'd already lost a bestie in this ordeal, she didn't need to lose her beloved boyfriend too. _

_But then Sam said something that told her the fallout to this was actually much, much worse than just a standard break-up._

_"He's leaving Clover. Luke's decided ... to transfer out."_

_"WHAT?!" Clover shrieked not having seen something this drastic coming where Sam and Luke would literally be going from lovers to strangers again. _

_By this point, Sam was actually crying. Salty tears of pure anguish and sorrow trailed down her cheeks as she remembered every word he'd said when she'd managed to grab his wrist and forced him to speak to her. _

_"He said that he knows he has to let me go but if he stays here then it won't be possible. His feelings for me are just ... too strong. It's just too hard. He can't see me everyday and not want to be my boyfriend again."_

_Covering her face with her hands Sam kept sobbing as she dared not think of Luke actually going through with this and leaving her behind. He said he'd be gone by the end of the week, that was just a few days from now! What would she do without him? She loved him so damn much that she couldn't even fathom actually losing him. She'd do anything to make him stay! To take her back! Anything!_

_"Oh my God, I'm so sorry sweetie," Clover whispered softly, rubbing Sam's back in small circles to try and soothe away her despair._

_"I wish I could help you think of some way to stop him," she said knowing that if she could, she would. But with Luke already having made up his mind there was nothing more that could be done when Sam's very quiet and very shy sounding voice drew her attention._

_"Well ... there is one thing," the redhead suddenly said as she wiped away her tears and remembered that she still had one ray of hope that had not been snuffed out yet. She could still fix this. Luke had told her just how to, all she had to do was __**do it**__._

_Feeling Clover's curious gaze glued to her, she took a deep breath into her lungs before telling her what she had to do to win her Luke back once and for all. _

_"He said that if I could give him a sign to show him that I really, truly loved him even after all of this then he wouldn't have to go. That we can still be together if I can take away his doubts and show him that I want him now even more than I did before."_

_"Okay..." Clover said slowly, not really getting where Sam was going with this. She'd already poured her heart and soul out to Lucas, what else could she do to convince him without question that he was the only one for her? She couldn't think of anything else._

_Then all at once her eyes flew wide as she finally caught Sam's drift. Was she thinking of taking their relationship to the next level? Of getting intimate with Lucas. _

_The startled look on her face must have been a dead giveaway of her thoughts as Sam started to very awkwardly doodle into the armrest of her chair and look at the floor while blushing like a ripe tomato. _

_And she got her confirmation right then that yes, having sex with Luke was just what Sam was planning._

_"Well um ... I mean you've never actually ... done __**that **__before ... right?" Clover uncomfortably managed to get out. Clearing her throat she tried to be a little more comprehensible. "Like Lucas is totally gonna be your first time … right?"_

_When Sam meekly nodded her head and blushed even more, Clover wasn't sure how to feel about this because this ... was huge. _

_She knew Sam, and she knew she had always said that she wanted to be traditional and wait till marriage to have sex because there was something just so beautiful and pure about sharing that level of closeness with just your husband instead of just any guy. This completely went against those lifelong ideals. _

_Also her family would totally flip out if they found out as Sam's relatives were extremely conservative and would definitely frown on her doing this. Especially Sam's dad Shawn._

_As if she could tell just what she was thinking, Sam tried justifying why she wanted to do this. Why she thought it was time. _

_"I love him Clover," she breathed out heavily as though it was hard for her to contain just how much she did inside herself. "I love him so much. I ... I can't imagine my life without him. I ... think he's __**the one**__."_

_As Clover's eyes went even wider realizing at last what Sam was saying, she smiled now to say that yes that was it. By calling him the one, she was implying that she could see herself marrying Lucas some day. _

_"He's the one I want to be with now and forever..." She said then, so gently and with so much tenderness like she was standing before Luke at a wedding altar and saying this to him instead of her. _

_Hearing all the conviction, the absence of any doubt both in her voice and on her face Clover couldn't bring herself to question if Sam was making a mistake. It was clear that in this world full of billions, Sammie had located her soul mate. _

_That was all that mattered didn't it? That she was sure he was the one she loved and would forever love over any other guy? And with feelings that strong and invincible, making love was only the next natural step._

_Clover touched Sam's shoulder and gave it a friendly squeeze as she smiled at her encouragingly, giving her the approval she wanted from her just like a good friend would._

_"Then do what your heart is telling you Sammie."_

_Sam's face burst into a happy grin. Reaching over, she thanked her profusely with a big hug before she ran off to show Lucas Sharpe just how much she loved him._

Sealing her eyes with bitterness and self-loathing Clover could slap herself right now across her face for giving Sam such trash counsel. Any man that made you go against you beliefs, emotionally blackmailed you into spreading your legs for him (that was exactly what that had been as she'd found out soon enough. Lucas hadn't given a single damn about Alex, he'd only seen her leaving as the perfect opportunity to go in for the kill with a lovelorn and vulnerable Sam all the while feeling like a king at her foolishly having chosen him over her) when you weren't ready was a user and an asshole.

She should have shook sense into Sam, figured out that she wasn't using her head right now, and stopped her from giving Lucas something so irreplaceable and precious. Something that he'd never once deserved as he proved just some time later.

While Sam's grades fell into a deeper pitfall swiftly turning from a couple of C's to D's and F's especially now that she was constantly putting out for her horny boyfriend who wanted to have sex with her 24/7, she also soon failed in something other than her classes. Something that had even farther reaching consequences than any of them could have ever imagined.

Hearing Scam utter her name to prompt her forward and finish scribbling in the final few pages of the story of Sam's life that he didn't know about still, she began unravelling for him exactly when Sam's nightmare had truly begun. Exactly when she'd started to transform from a happy, optimistic girl with hopes and dreams into the bitter, jaded, broken woman she was today that didn't trust anyone including herself anymore.

_The first thought she'd had when she'd walked in to find a very panicked looking Sam looking as lifeless as a ghost sitting on her bed was that her parents had somehow gotten a hold of the report cards she'd been hiding and called to give her a verbal lashing about them. _

_Actually knowing Sam's dad, he was probably on his way here to lecture her in person which would explain why Sam looked so much like a little girl about to cry. _

_But the actual reason why Sam appeared so undone right now, left her almost falling faint._

_"My uh-my ..." Sam had bumbled, tripping over every syllable as she spoke shakily. "Clover I ... I didn't get my period this month."_

_Clover did her best not to freak out at that admission as she opened her mouth to tell Sam that it was probably okay; every girl no matter how regular missed a cycle here and there due to things like stress and finals were almost upon them. _

_But Sam's next confession made her fall silent. Completely and utterly silent._

_"And I've been feeling a little bit nauseous as of late too ..."_

_For the first time Clover noticed that Sam was holding something in her hand so tightly that her entire fist was white. Now that her eyes zeroed in on it, she realized that it was the result of a home pregnancy test. And the color of the indicator strip was showing a clear positive._

_"Oh god ..." Clover thought, feeling her heartbeat start to hammer in her throat. This could not be happening right? Sam wasn't actually pregnant ... right?"_

_"Sammie ..." She bit her lip tensely before asking her the invasive but necessary question. "While you were with Lucas ... you were using protection right?" _

_"I think so..." Sam whispered before bowing her head in a guilty manner and staring at her bare kneecap while picking at the denim of her mini-skirt thinking over how Lucas had wanted more intimacy with her and had about two weeks ago asked to not wear a condom anymore; something she'd convinced herself was okay as long as she took birth control pills. Although sometimes she had difficulty remembering when she'd taken those and if she needed to take more or not. _

_"At least ... at first."_

_Clover's eyes tripled in size as her jaw dropped incredulously. What had she been thinking?! Sam was waaayyyy too smart to end up in this very easily preventable situation! In fact she was the last girl on the planet she'd ever think could be so reckless!_

_But then again Sam was totally lost in love right now in a way she never had before. And in that dazed state, she'd made a misstep that had led to this life-changing situation. _

_Crossing her arms over her chest, Clover stared hard at her best friend before asking her the very difficult question of whether or not she would be even keeping this baby or__—_

_"... An abortion?" Sam barely whispered out looking scared to death at the thought. Her arms moved and wrapped protectively around her belly as she cradled herself knowing that had always been against her principles. _

_To kill off an innocent baby was just ... wrong. And this one, this one was the symbol of her and Lucas' passionate love. How could she destroy it?_

_Reading her intentions for the child within her with her body language, Clover understood where she was coming from and expressed the deepest sympathy for her before reminding her that she was barely an adult and not anywhere near ready to be a mother. _

_What about her dreams of an illustrious career? Would she be able to achieve them while raising a kid? Even if Luke and her were committed to one another, a baby would change things between them. They would be parents! Parents at age 19 and 21! _

_And what of her own parents? How would they feel when they inevitably found out about this? They didn't even know she was dating a guy in college, had a serious boyfriend, let alone that she was pregnant with his baby! _

_As difficult as it was, she had to consider all those things also and not just how she felt about Luke. _

_Seeing the effects of the mental tug-of-war Sam was going through now starting to show on her bewildered face, Clover decided to take Sam down to the campus medical office first. _

_Before anything else they had to find out if this was for real. Pregnancy kits like this often fluked and it was very possible that she wasn't even pregnant and there was no colossal choice for her to make. _

_Yet just an hour later both Sam and her got the undeniable confirmation that Sam was indeed carrying Lucas' baby in her womb and yes, this was actually happening. _

_While Sam collapsed onto a chair in the nurse's office and cried out asking what was she going to do, Clover informed of the very first thing that she definitely had to do. _

_"Sammie ... you have to tell Luke," she urged knowing his reaction to the news was going to be instrumental in deciding what happened next._

_If he was willing to be a dad to Sam's baby then as challenging as this new path that her life would now be going down would be, she'd still get through it with him by her side. Sure it wouldn't be exactly how she'd always planned it happening but with Luke's support she could still get her happy ending complete with a rewarding career and wholesome family life. _

_All Lucas had to do was be there for her and it'd all be okay. _

"So how did he take the news?" Tim questioned curiously already having a feeling that this was when everything had gone to all hell for Sam, an intuition that flared higher with how Clover's body began to actually shudder just then as if telling him without words that this Lucas guy had let Sam down badly when she'd needed him most.

But _how_ badly?

"He took it well. _Too well _to be honest," Clover opened her mouth again a moment later when she'd composed herself a little.

"He said he was so happy they were having a baby. He swore to her that she would not be dealing with this alone and he'd be with her every step of the way. When Sammie left, he made sure she felt like she had nothing to worry about. In fact, he even sat down with her and decided on the date when he'd be going with her to break the news to her mum and dad."

Scam's face screwed up in sheer confusion at what he was hearing now. This ... didn't sound at all like a guy who had no interest in being a dad to Sam's baby. Actually he seemed like he was _very_ responsible towards his unborn child and its mother. Well, besides for knocking her up by being an irresponsible idiot in the first place.

For just a minute the thought of another man's hands being all over Sam's naked body, of him being on top and inside of her set him ablaze, ridiculously enough seeing he knew full well it had happened at least once before. Sam did have a daughter after all.

But he maintained his calm exterior because as hard as this was to sit through, it was a necessary evil and he himself had asked for it.

Putting his mind back on his latest conundrum of Lucas' unexpected cooperation in Sam's accidental pregnancy, he couldn't help but ask himself why he was absent from Josie and Sam's lives? If he was so excited and willing to be there for them then, then where was he now? Based on this, it didn't make _any_ sense for him to be gone entirely.

Had Sam decided to part ways with him because something else had happened further into her pregnancy? Maybe as much as she loved him, them being parents together just didn't work out. Heck married couples sometimes split apart when their first child came into the picture because they just weren't cut out for it, and Sam and Luke had just been boyfriend and girlfriend.

But what Clover told him next left him feeling hit with a whirlwind of shock, disbelief, and revulsion all at once and the realization that Lucas Sharpe had not been nearly as innocent as he'd been mistakenly thinking and incorrectly giving him the benefit of the doubt of being.

"But when the Saturday they'd agreed on to make the trip arrived just three days later… Luke was nowhere to be found. His dorm room was empty, no one had seen in him in his classes, and he wasn't answering any of the hundreds of calls, voicemails, and texts that Sam left him."

_"... Please tell me that the man hadn't been that much of a coward, that much of a bastard to abandon her so cruelly in her time of need,"_ Scam thought just then, his teeth clenching and hands curling into fists atop his desk as an overwhelming need to do something that he hadn't done in ages took over him.

And that was the maddening desire to hurt someone, namely Lucas. Torture him until he screamed, until he bled to make him pay for the hideous wrong he'd done to Sam.

Regardless of him being a super villain once and a doer of nearly every crime that the law recognized, he knew if he ever had a baby that needed him, _his _baby that needed him, he'd never be able to turn a blind eye and walk away from his own flesh and blood.

There simply was no way to validate it, he just couldn't understand what kind of a person did something that fucking heartless? That cold-blooded? And that too to someone they said they loved?

Clover stopped talking for just a second to let her eyes wash over Scam's increasingly wrathful face and was able to tell that he was mentally putting the pieces of the puzzle together just as she had when Sam had frantically told her that she wasn't being able to get in touch with her boyfriend despite all her endless attempts.

That he was hiding from her on purpose and didn't want to be found. That he was ignoring her messages despite receiving them all. That he had bailed on her. Something that Sam hadn't noticed or was desperate to pretend she hadn't.

For even when she was informed months after that Lucas had actually left the college entirely along with the state and had started attending Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia had she not understood that she'd been duped. A nearly two months pregnant Sam had stubbornly kept her blindfold on against his transparent betrayal and went all the way there just to see him again.

What she'd hoped to find was a miserable Romeo Lucas who'd somehow been compelled to leave her behind without his will and had a heartfelt explanation for her but what she'd found in his place was a more than happy Lucas who had a brand new school, a brand new major, and a brand new girlfriend to go with it.

"When she finally cornered him... " Clover proceeded, recounting what Sam had said to her all those years ago while crying in her arms in the form of a shaking, crying, heartbroken mess. A tale of treachery so sickening she'd never gotten over it and never would.

"She naively apologized thinking she'd done something wrong and pleaded with him to forgive her. But instead of dumping his new girl and returning to her where he belonged, Luke told Sam that he couldn't go with her.

_"Babe, I'm sorry but I'm too young to be a dad yet," He sighed, having the gall to try and get pity out of her for his cowardice. _

_"I have plans for my life. Big plans. You know that I want to be a fashion journalist. I want a life of success, fame, adventure. Having a baby now would ... I hate to say it, but it'd just get in the way. One day, far into the future I might want to settle down, get married, and have kids but I'm definitely not ready for all that now and honestly neither are you. If I were you I'd ... get an abortion."_

_"What's gotten into you Luke?!" Sam had shouted in disbelief. Was this the same man she'd known all this time, loved, and given herself to in every way that she knew how to? To her eyes he seemed a stranger in this moment. _

_Clutching his shirt she'd tried to implore him to listen to himself, that this wasn't him speaking to her right now because it couldn't be. Something, someone had to be controlling him! His mouth was saying someone else's words and not his own! _

_"Come on, let's go! Let's go see my parents! Your parents! We have to tell them that we're having a baby! That we're gonna be getting married!" She begged him to keep his promise to her that he'd made to her the last time they'd spoken face to face. _

_That could not have been a lie! He couldn't be ditching her! No, her Luke would never in a million years do that! He loved her far too much, she knew he did!_

_But he'd frowned and tugged himself free of her clutches before rudely telling her off by saying that he was never actually going to meet her parents, nor had he ever meant it when he'd said that he would marry her because doing that wouldn't be fair to him._

_"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU SAYING?!" Sam had wailed now with her brain exploding from confusion. Why would his becoming her husband, choosing to spend his life with her, with the woman he loved so dearly not be fair to HIM? What was the meaning of that cryptic statement?!_

_But the meaning became evident when Lucas looked her right in the eye and said something that tore her heart into a billion tiny shreds inside the cavern of her chest._

_"Because I don't love you Sam. Honestly … I never really did."_

_"Then ... w-why?" Sam was barely able to breathe out through her laboured breaths and unattractive tears that were making a spectacular wreck of the mascara she'd carefully put on for the first time in forever just to pretty herself up for this much anticipated meeting with him. _

_"Wh-whyy did you t-tell me that you did? Why d-did you do any of this?" _

_Now having gotten what he'd wanted out of her and being ready to wipe his feet off on her like an used rug and leave out the door, Lucas finally confessed the ugly truth. _

_"In my fraternity, there was a uh ... a bet we made. We had a sort of list of the most beautiful freshmen girls who we speculated hadn't lost their virginities yet. Well ... you were on top of that list so__—__"_

_A gasp leaving her, Sam's hand connected with Luke's cheek in a slap with such a thundering force that sounded like a lightning bolt had hit somewhere close by. Having heard more than enough to finally bring her back to her senses she only stayed in his room long enough to rip the promise ring he'd given her just before the first time they'd slept together off her finger. __And then she ran out and kept running and running as far as she could get from Lucas Sharpe._

_Tears taking the form of salty waterfalls gushed out of her eyes at the soul-shattering knowledge that the man she'd loved with every fibre of her being had never loved her back. To him all she'd ever been was a sex object, a toy to play with, and at most an ego boost. _

_Crushed, she felt a tornado of emotions rip her inside her out. _

_Hate. _

_Betrayal._

_Worthlessness. _

_Disgust. _

_But two things most of all. A feeling of all-encompassing rage and downright stupidity at no one but herself because she had no one else to blame for this. Her life had turned into the cliché plot of a bad young adult movie due to solely her lack of thought._

_Alex had been right Sam knew, seeing the light at long last in her darkest moment. _

_Collapsing onto her knees the second she reached her car, she hid her face with her hands and cried herself a belated ocean of regret and shame right there on the gravel of the parking lot. _

_Alex had been right all along._

"She slipped into the deepest depression, " Clover's voice trembled with sorrow as she remembered the critical aftermath of Luke's betrayal.

Sam wouldn't eat, she wouldn't speak, she wouldn't even sleep. She'd spend whole days just laying in bed and staring up at the ceiling, her eyes vacant of anything but tears. For a long time it seemed like her tears would never stop falling.

But little by little she'd gotten her back up on her feet by promising her that unlike her cheating dickhead of a boyfriend, she'd never ditch her and that as rough as things were right now they would get her life back on track. Then with the reminder that she had an innocent little life growing inside of her that she needed to care for, she'd persuaded Sam to start taking care of herself again.

"In the face of everything she was going through, Sammie did her best to stay strong. Even though she wasn't in the best place mentally, she apologized to her professors for her poor attendance in the past and asked if there was any way of redeeming her failed credits. Once she'd convinced them to give her another chance, she spent all hours at the library, pulled all-nighter after all-nighter to try and catch up. She worked so hard despite gossipy whispers following her everywhere."

_"She was so brave,"_ Scam thought as Clover described Sam's valiant attempts to rise above the chaos she'd been through. To say he found that admirable was a massive understatement for most people would crumble and fall after such an episode instead of get back up and push themselves to keep going.

But then … when _had _Sam lost that determination? Because the Samantha he'd encountered now five years after the Samantha that Clover was describing him didn't have that invincible willpower anymore.

She'd given up and settled for the lemons that life had handed her which had to mean that something else, something _even worse _than this had happened to her which had ultimately broken her beyond repair.

As much as he dare not think of what that could have been, he knew it was far too late to back out now. Sam's full story was still pending. The last page, the final paragraph. And bracing himself the best that he could, he asked to know what was written on it.

"What stopped her from turning her life around Clover… What got in the way?"

This time Clover's face contorted into one so hateful that it almost seemed like he wasn't even looking at the blonde he knew anymore. With no control over the contempt in her tone she spit out the final secret.

"... A certain_ someone _at our college decided that Sam's misfortune would make a nice feature for the front cover of the school newspaper."

Mandy Luxe had always been a fierce rival and a total bitch but what she'd done to Sam was so beyond just being a shit person. It was cruel, it was sadistic, it was inhumane, and it was unforgivable.

By the time that scandalous issue of "The Malibu Times" had made the rounds around campus, not a person was left in that entire college who didn't know that Sam was pregnant and exactly how she'd wound up that way.

All Mandy had gotten for it was a slap on the wrist by the dean for putting a student's private matter out in public like that. Her punishment was decided to be some hours of community service, suspension from writing for the paper, and the requirement of writing a letter of apology to Sam.

One that Sam hadn't even received because the fallout of that newsletter had left her unable to look anyone in the eye anymore. With no other choice she'd fled from the college to home and to what she'd been hoping would be the sanctuary of her parents' love, forgiveness, and much-needed understanding.

And it was here that Sam's life derailed once and for all after she received the final fatal blow, the dagger in her heart from none other than her own father who'd cast her away like a rotten apple upon learning that she had returned home carrying a bastard child inside her that she refused to abort at any cost.

**"THEN YOU CAN GET OUT!" **Shawn had screamed at her, practically dragging her to the front door of the family mansion while ignoring his wife's screams behind him trying to get him to please re-think this, saying that yes Sam had made an awful err in judgement but throwing her out in the street to fend for herself was not the punishment she deserved especially while she was in this fragile condition.

But he hadn't been able to hear her or his once cherished daughter's heartbroken cries, the humiliation and loss of repute that he'd faced in society that day being too much for the high class, orthodox, Christian father to bear.

"Whatever else that was left of Sam fell apart that day ... " Clover whispered now with her tears falling freely, unable to be restrained any longer as unforgotten pain and old wounds ripped open for her with brutal force.

"Sammie lost her family, her home, her hopes and dreams, everything … And it's all because of me. It's all my fault!"

Her legs unable to support her for any more time, Clover slowly slid to the floor of the office. The act of shedding the heavy burden of remorse she'd held onto her shoulders for half a decade taking everything out of her left her in a fit of uncontrollable sobs.

And just across from her with his jaw on that same ground that she was huddled upon and eyes stuck wide in horror, with lungs not even breathing anymore was Tim Scam who was at an absolute loss for words after finally knowing everything that Samantha Simpson had endured in his 5-year-long absence.

* * *

(1) Reference to Season 6, Episode 8: "Celebrity Swipe!". One of the things I love most about this show is its real world parody characters and this one is pure gold lol. Rad Smitt is TS' version of actor Brad Pitt.

(2) The infamous James from Season 1, Episode 18: "Evil Boyfriend". I drew _heavily_ from this episode as I'm sure you guys can tell. Sam's behaviour in that episode really inspired her actions in this flashback chapter.

(3) Alex turns Goth in Season 3, Episode 17: "Creepy Crawly Much?" to impress a guy named Seth.

...

Longest chapter I have done in ages (I'm sorry but I wanted to finish up the back-story! x_x) I'm excited to hear your reactions to it though!

How Sam was cheated by Josie's dad, how she ended up losing Alex, the part Mandy played, and most of all what you think is coming next!

Will this change Scam's decision to no longer pursue Sam or strengthen it?

**Review **if you please? :D

Love,

Cresenta L


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